Album Review: Heaven knows | PinkPantheress
34 minutes of Y2K euphoria.
You might not know who UK singer PinkPantheress is, but you’ve definitely heard her music. Boy’s A Liar pt. 2 (with Ice Spice) went viral in February and was all over the internet. Still, it wasn’t the first time PinkPantheress had seen one of her songs become a frequent TikTok audio (Pain, Break It Off, Just for Me). The 22-year-old has amassed a cult fanbase over the past couple of years due to her unique Y2K, UK-Garage, bedroom pop style of music paired with her unique, hushed vocal style and introspective lyrics. Interestingly enough, PinkPantheress claims she “never goes on TikTok or Instagram” despite her music sounding exactly like the internet sounds. A bunch of disjointed, filtered, reposted, and reconstructed bite-size headlines of addictive pop music.
Finally announced in October, her debut album, Heaven Knows, has finally arrived. Still, it comes amid an exciting time for the artist. She was notably snubbed from the Grammys (while her collaborator Ice Spice picked up several nominations). In many circles, she recognizes she is a faceless artist, where people might know her songs but not know who she is. She feels the pressure herself, “People know me for the song, but I feel like now I have to prove that I can write.”
In a recent interview, she revealed she has soured on most of her biggest hits. “They’re crap,” she says about Boy’s A Liar pt. 2. She even goes on to say that a couple of the songs on her new record, like Internet Baby (interlude), are “crap,” too. We understand the sentiment that artists don’t have to love all of their music, but you’d think maybe you’d wait a little while before you call some of the songs on your brand-new record “crap.” She alludes that these “crap” songs are usually the ones that are most commercially successful, and hence why she wishes one of the ones she is most proud of to be hit, too.
PinkPantheress ventures out slightly from her typical bedroom-pop, TikTok-snippet-length songs from her mixtape days on her debut, experimenting with more guitars, strings, and gothic sounds. When describing the album’s theme, “Overall, I wanted to make everyone feel depleted and sad. The theme is about love, loss, and life. I wanted it to feel like, at any point, the listener could start having memories of a loved one or someone they’ve lost.”
Crap or not, there are some really great songs here. Lyrically, the album is quite gloomy. PinkPantheress is also ambitious here. To any English lit nerds, Ophelia is written from the perspective of Hamlet’s Ophelia. Blue, The Aisle, and Feel Complete are the biggest bops on this record. But in reality, the bop-to-not ratio is VERY high on this record. Most of them are boppable.
The most exciting song on this album comes from the longest track, Capable Of Love. It’s simply poetic that by being known for her sub-2 minute tracks, PinkPantheress crafts an almost 4-minute song that is wonderfully constructed and filled with haunting lyrics about what would happen if she lost it all in a romantic relationship. Despite someone who seems so numb and aloof from her career, PinkPantheress is one to watch in the coming years as she decides she wants to hone in on her craft and start taking music seriously.
Check out our favorite tracks, listen to the album, and see our scores below:
Can’t Miss: The Aisle, Capable of Love, Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2
You Can Skip: None of them! Enjoy the 34 minutes!
BY THE NUMBERS
Bennett’s Score: 7.5
Carson’s Score: 7.4
Album Score: 14.9
Notes from Bennett:
This album feels monumental. It feels like a project that is exploratory in sound and I’m all for it. The Y2K digi-pop sounds and modern pop basslines absolutely shred. I’m in love with the production detail on this album, everything works so well together, I was specifically impressed by the drums and especially the strings on Ophelia. absolutely crazy.
Speaking of production can we have a moment to appreciate the organ and synths on Another Life. Such a cool way to open the project, it’s grandiose but immediately on vibe. The track itself is really a kinda definition of the PinkPantheress formula, leading bassline & fast drums - (I know there is a term for this kind of drum break I just can’t place it).
Nice to Meet You with Central Cee could be the best song on this project. This marriage of Y2K pop and UK Drill is heat. I’m not even super into UK Drill Or UK Rap, I know a couple of slowthai songs maybe Skepta but this song just works too well.
I want to give PinkPantheress flowers for her vocal work and writing. Her vocals can be found often carrying the melody on a majority of these tracks and it sounds fantastic. Chorus of True Romance, The Aisle, Blue do a great job.
Notes from Carson:
I hate UK rap (sorry), but I thought Central Cee’s inclusion on Nice to meet you kind of nice. Not my favorite track but I enjoy it.
The gothic opening with the organs on Another Life makes for a very interesting first track. Epic instrumental.
Some of the press about this album is so “I am NOT like the other girls” which has made me a little sad but I still like this album and think she’s one to watch in the coming years. I do recommend watching this if you’re interested in getting to know more of her personality.
^My favorite part about this interview is when she is telling Zane how she is going on tour and how she doesn’t want to but her label is making her do it. She describes the conversation with her label “Oh….I wasn’t really planning to perform these songs live, can we just have like a listening party instead? I don’t know how to perform.” LOL this is going to be interesting!
Generally, I feel like features here are hit or miss. Ice Spice and Rema both did their thing on Boys A Liar and Another Life, but I felt like Central Cee and Kelela tracks weren’t very exciting.
I wish I had some more time with this album before reviewing it, but I feel pretty confident most tracks are very solid and will continue to grow on me.
Top 3: The Aisle, Blue, Capable of Love, (and ofc Boys A Liar)
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