The Prize (album)
| The Prize | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Prima Queen | ||||
| Released | 25 April 2025 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop[1] | |||
| Length | 37:09 | |||
| Label | Submarine Cat | |||
| Producer | Steph Marziano | |||
| Prima Queen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Prize | ||||
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The Prize is the debut studio album by British-American alternative rock duo Prima Queen, composed of Louise Macphail and Kristen McFadden.[2] It was released on 25 April 2025, via Submarine Cat, in CD, LP and digital formats.[1]
Background
The Prize consists of twelve tracks ranging between two and three minutes each, apart from the intro track, whose length is under a minute. The total runtime of the album is approximately thirty-seven minutes. Its first single, "Fool", was released on 1 October 2024.[3] It was followed by the second single, "Ugly", a month later on 13 November 2024,[4] and the title-track third single on 7 January 2025.[5] Noted as an album composed of indie pop songs,[1] it was produced by Steph Marziano,[4] and succeeds the duo's 2023 EP, Not the Baby.[3]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| DIY |    [6] |
| Dork | [7] |
| The Line of Best Fit | [8] |
| MusicOMH | [1] |
| Record Collector | [2] |
The Prize was described by Dork as "the culmination of two artists sure of their vision with an intent to turn every situation into a funny story, and it works delightfully well,"[7] and DIY as "a warm exploration of life's intimacies that places female friendship at the centre of this pair's universe."[6] MusicOMH rated The Prize four stars and referred to it as "a collection of wry, witty indie-pop songs that seem to distil the best parts of Tegan and Sara, mix them up with a dash of Haim, a slather of Taylor Swift and then add their own special ingredient."[1]
Christopher Hamilton-Peach of The Line of Best Fit assigned the album a rating of eight out of ten, stating "Prima Queen cement their emerging status with The Prize in a confident and unabashed manner, the self-awareness of reviewing the past through a forgiving lens, and a resignation to inaccuracy and flaws that finds expression in the final track's closing refrains."[8] Record Collector's Chris Roberts gave the album a rating of three stars, stating "their connection and shared instinctive direction of travel is undeniable. Theirs is a sometimes hazy, sometimes pristine blend of guitars and harmonies which respects the succor of story-telling and implies empowerment without heavy-handedness," calling it a "promising debut."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Clickbait (Intro)" | 0:42 |
| 2. | "Mexico" | 3:50 |
| 3. | "The Prize" | 3:19 |
| 4. | "Oats (Ain't Gonna Beg)" | 2:59 |
| 5. | "Ugly" | 3:16 |
| 6. | "Flying Ant Day" | 2:38 |
| 7. | "Meryl Streep" | 3:51 |
| 8. | "Spaceship" | 3:16 |
| 9. | "Fool" | 3:41 |
| 10. | "Woman and Child" | 3:23 |
| 11. | "Sunshine Song" | 2:25 |
| 12. | "More Credit" | 3:43 |
| Total length: | 37:09 | |
References
- ^ a b c d e Murphy, John (29 April 2025). "Prima Queen – The Prize". MusicOMH. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Roberts, Chris (May 2025). "Prima Queen – The Prize". Record Collector. p. 105. Retrieved 10 June 2025 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b Murray, Robin; Murray (1 October 2024). "Prima Queen Share New Single Fool". Clash. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ a b Jamieson, Sarah (13 November 2024). "Prima Queen announce debut album The Prize, share new track 'Ugly'". DIY. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ Murray, Robin (8 January 2025). "Prima Queen Share New Song 'The Prize'". Clash. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ a b Jamieson, Sarah (23 April 2025). "Prima Queen – The Prize". DIY. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ a b Mearns, Minty (23 April 2025). "Prima Queen – The Prize". Dork. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ a b Hamilton-Peach, Christopher (25 April 2025). "Prima Queen: The Prize review – confident debut". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 10 June 2025.