PinkPantheress, the 22-year-old British singer, has finally released her debut album “Heaven Knows”. The 13-track record plays for 34 minutes and includes the once inescapable mega-hit “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2”, featuring up-and-coming rapper Ice Spice.
Pinkpantheress has revolutionized music since her debut in 2019, establishing viral trends and reviving music genres once thought to be dead. Songs such as “Pain” and “Attracted to You” have both accumulated a colossal amount of streams on music platforms.
Known for her airy, sugary style of music, the songstress’ discography spans over a multitude of genres. She mainly hones in on two specific categorizations- drum and bass, abbreviated as DnB, and UK garage, or UKG, both of which are subgenres of electronic dance music.
PinkPantheress is largely credited with the revival of these two genres and has been listed as an inspiration for many recent DnB and UKG songs. Most notably, Newjeans, a South Korean girl group, credited PinkPantheress as inspiration for their viral hit “Super Shy”, which has amassed over 300 million streams on Spotify.
Despite a mere four years in the industry, Pinkpantheress’ massive influence on the music industry is undeniable, making the release of her debut album incredibly monumental.
“Heaven Knows” is a follow-up to her 2021 EP “to hell with it”, a body of work universally loved by mega-fans and casual listeners. Crafting a follow-up to a project that is so deeply cherished by her audience would prove to be difficult, but it is safe to say the star did not disappoint.
The album opens with “Another life (feat. Rema)”, a bouncy, infectious track that perfectly encapsulates the rest of the album. In this song, the singer includes an interpolation of legendary KPop group f(X)’s 2010 track, “Ice Cream”. Pinkpantheress credits f(X) as a huge inspiration, making the interpolation a meaningful moment for the artist.
We then move on to the first single off of the album, “Mosquito”. Pinkpantheress is notorious for having gleeful productions unexpectedly juxtaposed with melancholy lyrics, which is showcased perfectly on this track.
The singer carols, “I just had a dream I was dead, and I only cared ’cause I was taken from you”. The underlying messages of the singer’s morbid infatuation with her partner prove to be a common theme throughout the record.
“I pray that I’ll die before my baby, I’ll take a risk if anyone tries to touch my baby,” sings the star on the next single off the album, “Nice to meet you (feat. Central Cee)”. PinkPantheress’ silky voice sails along the flowery, 8-bit beat that makes up the instrumental in the track. Central Cee’s rap verse, which showcases his effortless edge, contrasts the sound of the song and PinkPantheress’ voice perfectly.
A highlight off the album, “Bury me (feat. Kelela)”, plays next and causes quite the initial shock. The deep, grungy bass featured in the song is incredibly jarring considering the light and bubbly song it follows. Pinkpantheress’ ability to work diversity into her songs is marvelous considering her songs strictly consist of DnB and UKG.
The album comes to a close with the emotional rock ballad, “Capable of love”. The song sits at a hearty 3 minutes and 43 seconds long, making it Pinkpantheress’ longest song to date.
The track took risks PinkPantheress had yet to explore in her music career. She strays from her typical infectiously delightful production and leans into a disheveled, hard-hitting instrumental. The final seconds of the song feature ringing church bells, perfectly representing the title of the album.
PinkPantheress’ “Heaven Knows”, features bold risks and ventures into corners of music that the star had previously yet to uncover. The 34 minutes of pure bliss within her record prove that Pinkpantheress is a force to be reckoned with and will continue to be a trailblazer in the music industry.