WORTH A LOOK?: ****

TRACKLIST: Femininomenen; Red Wine Supernova; After Midnight; Coffee; Casual; Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl; Hot To Go!; My Kink Is Karma; Picture You; Kaleidoscope; Pink Pony Club; Naked In Manhattan; California; Guilty Pleasure

Good things come to those who wait – and this album was released almost a year ago but it wasn’t until Roan supported Olivia Rodrigo that things really started to take off for her.

• Read on for reasons including how we can’t wait to see her on tour and where you can

We approached this album with caution because singles have been released from it since 2020 and it was only last year when they began going top 10 in the UK – but we needn’t have worried.

Roan, real name Kayleigh Amstutz, reminds of both Kate Bush and Taylor Swift in her strong vocal delivery but the deeply personal and provacative lyrics are very much owned by the 26-year-old, as we write, from Willard, Missouri.

Key track for us is the Prince-ish chug of 80s electro that is Casual which brings to mind the soundtracks of beloved teen movies like The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink which broke cult indie UK bands worldwide.

Yet it’s the lyrics addressed to a reluctant lover that are a step on from some of the forgettable material offered by Swift lately including: ‘Knee deep in the passenger seat and you’re eating me out. Is it Casual now? … ‘I’m just a girl that you bang on your couch’, and ‘It’s hard being Casual when my favourite bra lives in your dresser.’

Roan wrote or co-wrote everything here and collaborates with Olivia Rodrigo’s producer Dan Nigro and we assume the album’s title reflects the earlier bump in the road in her career where she lost her record deal during Covid after not fully embracing the commercial sound here which has led to this becoming a sleeper hit.

Themes include feeling like an outsider in Missouri and leaving for Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer while showcasing her journey of falling in queer love for the first time.

Synth pop joy Pink Pony Club is a semi-autobiographical anthem about a smalltown girl who finds belonging at a West Hollywood go-go bar.

During this journey of self-discovery things get lyrically messy (the term Femininomenen feels well-intentioned if clunky) as well as brat-summer-ish (‘I kinda wanna kiss your girlfriend if you don’t mind?’ she confesses in After Midnight).

It’s all hugely relatable – whether Roan is ‘crying at the nail salon’ – or debating whether to meet an on-off lover for Coffee or for something a little stronger: ‘I’ll meet you for Coffee, only for Coffee, nowhere else is safe, Every place leads back to your place.’

There’s even a new single riding high in the charts – Good Luck Babe! – and Roan is working on new material. We’re not seeing her on her current UK tour but can’t wait to do so and soon.

• Main pictures via Facebook courtesy Chappell Roan Tickets
• Have you seen a Chappell Roan show before and what do you think of this album? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this preview? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email neildurham3@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram and Facebook