From promoting her music as a faceless TikToker in early 2021 to being a special guest on Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS Tour,” U.K. native PinkPantheress has steadily risen to fame. By the end of 2021, she had already released her mixtape “to hell with it,” consisting of some of her most popular songs.
With viral sensations such as “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” and “Pain,” she’s truly established her position as a new pop princess with her creative sound. Her airy and angelic voice stuck out to many and set her apart from other pop artists around this time.
Her debut album, “Heaven knows,” expands on her talents, with each song holding a different meaning. Here’s a breakdown of each song from her new record:
This song starts off with a strong, almost medieval-sounding instrumental before it breaks into a more poppish-breakcore sound. In the lyrics, she seems to relate the absence of somebody to death. In her lyric, “You melt up my body and my body and all my heart,” she interpolates the lyrics from the early 2010s K-pop group fx’s song “Ice Cream”.
The singer uses her love for K-pop as an inspiration for the melody in this song. Rema’s feature on this song was the perfect addition to this song. Their voices coincide very well and make it a great listen.
The sound of this song contrasts the sound of “Another life” heavily. From a dark sound to a more cheerful beat with less mournful lyrics, she imagines herself as a fan in a crowd. Hoping to stand out from the others, she says, “I’m in the crowd, can you see my hand?”
It’s a very sweet-sounding song, with lyrics seeming to resemble a parasocial fan-to-artist relationship.
“Mosquito”
This is another light-sounding song, with somewhat morbid lyrics. In “Mosquito,” PinkPantheress “has a dream she was dead” and “only cared ‘cause she was taken from you.”
The contrast between the obsessive lyrics and cheerfulness of the song is one that adds personality and an interesting element to the song. It’s definitely a fan favorite and got much praise when it was initially a pre-release for this album.
“The aisle” is more of a retro song and resembles an older pop song with its sound and structure. In the lyrics, it follows a complicated cat-and-mouse kind of relationship, or “situationship.” One situation led to passionate feelings from her, and now she wants this person and a future with them.
She says “No, you’re not quite stuck with me / But, one day, you’ll be.” This is the perfect song to play when you’re in a complicated situationship.
“Nice to meet you (feat. Central Cee)”
The lyrics are more lovely than the rest of the songs on “Heaven knows.” The love in this song, though somewhat obsessive, seems to be the most reciprocated and least complicated. She’s head over heels as she’ll “take a risk if anyone tries to touch my baby.”
Central Cee’s rap goes hand in hand with the beat and adds a nice trap element to this partially breakcore beat. If you’re possessive over your significant other, this song is definitely for you.
The mix of the fairy-like voice of PinkPantheress and the soulful voice of Kelela blend together so well on this calm trap beat. It’s a very mellow song, with lyrics describing --- once again --- a complicated situationship gone passionate. There’s a lack of love from the other party, but she can’t help but to feel so passionate toward them.
In “Bury me,” PinkPantheress says, “I almost fell in love, but I couldn't tell you,” and asks, “Would you bury me? Can’t you bury me?” sounding as if she wants to be forgotten.
Another song that mixes her melodic voice with a soft modern hip-hop beat. In “Internet baby (interlude),” she explores a new kind of perspective of love, where this time instead of her being the one strung along, the other party is. This time it’s, “You’re a needy guy, but I guess I kind of like that / You came on too strong, but I guess I kind of like that.”
“Ophelia”
Ophelia is more of a pleasant song, with a soft-pop spin on it. In “Ophelia,” she starts off the song with, “So tell me, what did I do to deserve you killin’ me this way?” This is a shift from the previous lyrics, which desperately ask why someone keeps breaking her down until she’s, well … dead.
It’s a very meaningful song, and its lyrics definitely hold more weight than many of the others on the album, expressing pain in a way the others don’t. It’s one of those songs you’d listen to after the end of an awful relationship.
“Feel complete” totally sounds like a song one would hear as the background of some kind of cute and modern game. In “Feel complete,” she uses a calmer hip-hop beat complete with some synths and a nice drumline. The melody is very light, and her voice adds a refreshing element to it. The lyrics depict someone who seems to realize she didn’t truly know their partner, saying, “I guess, I never knew you very well.”
“Blue”
This has the catchiest chorus of all the songs on the album. Part of the song perfectly interpolates “Kickstarts”by Example, giving a nostalgic feel to many of her English fans who listened. The verse, “It’s the same old you, and the same old me / Except you’re everything I can’t be” uses a melody from “Kickstarts.”
“Blue” seems to follow the end of a relationship because of habits that won’t change and attempts to mold oneself into someone to please someone. It’s definitely a breakup anthem.
“Feelings”
The beat of “Feelings” seems to be less of a soft beat. It sort of presents itself as a light, early 2000s kind of beat. I interpreted the lyrics as being afraid of coming off too eager in the early phases in a relationship, fearing that it’ll seem off-putting to someone.
She says, “I think I’m peakin’ too early / But I don’t want that makin’ you worry,” making it sound as if her love is reaching a point that’s higher than the other’s earlier. The chorus of “Feelings” is very catchy and her angelic voice definitely completes it.
“Capable of love” is one of my favorites on this album. It’s definitely a song representing a crush that simply won’t get off your mind. It’s one of those crushes that one never forgets about, almost like a first love. I love the lyric, “I’m obsessed with the idea that one day it breaks up / ‘Cause after that I know I’ll never be as capable of love, after you.” If you have a crush or first love you can’t forget about, this song may speak to you!
“Boy’s a liar Pt. 2 (feat. Ice Spice)”
“Boy’s a liar, Pt. 2 (feat. Ice Spice)” took over the summer of 2023. This fun tune quickly became a fan favorite, as it features up-and-coming rapper Ice Spice, who recently received four Grammy nominations. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” became iconic on Tiktok for its catchy chorus, raps and lyrics.
It definitely deserves the acclaim it has received this year. “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” has secured its spot as not only one of the most unforgettable songs by PinkPantheress, but also for the year 2023.
Overall, this album showed a more versatile side of PinkPantheress and had some features that perfectly complemented the songs. It definitely is a perfect breakup album, minus the sad sound many breakup songs have.
It takes the hardships of relationships and turns them into beautifully executed songs with mellow melodies and hard-hitting lyrics. PinkPantheress has established a sound for herself and it sets her apart from many modern artists.
Rating: 4/5
