‘Lil’ Golden Book’ is the debut album by New Zealand based composer Chelsea Nikkel, the woman behind breakthrough Youtube hit ‘The Cigarette Duet’ you can watch the video for that below. A two hander that examines a couple’s opposing viewpoints on addiction wonderfully reminding me of the cleverness of duo Blackbox Recorder walzing with the sound of Dresden Doll’s front lady Amanda Palmer.
Recorded as a home experiment over a period of three years, ‘Lil’ Golden Book’ is a collection of stories about growing up in New Zealand.
The album is presented as a suburban fairy-tale complete with appropriate cover art and 15 page booklet. Nikkel presents herself as the central character PRINCESS CHELSEA through which she delivers an acerbic social commentary.
After leaving high school she formed Auckland band Teen Wolf, with friends Vincent Lum and Brad Fafejta. Teen Wolf combined Nikkel’s classically driven keyboard lines with the frenetic energy of garage punk.
Nikkel is associated with a pop collective centered around her New Zealand based label ‘Lil Chief Records’ (The Brunettes, Ruby Suns). She has toured as a live member of The Brunettes and currently plays the role of Linda in the label’s own Paul McCartney / Wings tribute band ‘Disciples of Macca’.
Nikkel has spent the better part of her twenties developing her production and engineering skills and the result is her debut ‘Lil’ Golden Book’ – a home experiment that has been called “a triumph of high concept production”.
http://www.lilchiefrecords.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brunettes
