Heaven Knows Album Review: PinkPantheress is The Future of Pop

Heaven Knows Album Review: PinkPantheress is The Future of Pop  

By: Dylan Barbee

Courtesy of @pinkpantheress on Instagram 

Release Date: November 10, 2023 

PinkPantheress became a TikTok sensation when she started posting her songs “Just a Waste” and “Pain” on her personal account during the Covid-19 pandemic. Eventually, her fusion of bedroom and hyper-pop gained traction and she rose to fame. Since then, Pantheress has only grown in popularity, consistently dropping singles that put up numbers and collaborating with artists like Kaytranada on “Do You Miss Me?” and Destroy Lonely on the song “Turn Your Phone Off.” Her song “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” featuring Ice Spice is one of the most played songs of 2023, filling TikTok “For You Pages” and debuting at No.14 on Billboard.

Pantheress’s debut album Heaven Knows is short and sweet, containing 13 songs that expand across an entertaining 34 minutes. It’s an album that portrays Pantheress’ intense feelings of obsession with dwelling on past failed relationships and wondering if they could’ve gone differently. This is done through raw storytelling covering themes like addiction, heartbreak, death and delusion. 

With Pantheress becoming one of the main faces of the pop genre recently, it was only right she made a grand introduction on the opening track “Another Life” featuring Rema. The atmospheric sound of the church organ playing, overlaid by the sound of rainfall at the beginning immediately sets the hopeless romantic tone of the album. The song soon transitions into a dance track filled with futuristic synths and retro-sounding scratches of a record. Pantheress talks about how she feels misunderstood by her lover and realizes their love is dying. The only flaw to this energetic but emotional intro track was Rema’s lackluster verse which is disappointing since I’m a fan of most of his work. 

Much like Rema, the other features that appear on Heaven Knows aren’t able to perform at the same level as Pantheress. On the song “Bury Me,” Kelela's verse seems unnatural and forced. Central Cee provides a corny verse on the catchy song “Nice to meet you” when he talks about relationship difficulties. “I might risk it for a biscuit, Put my hand in her jar and try to reach for a cookie, sweet and I can’t resist it,” the UK artist raps. 

Perhaps the best part of Heaven Knows is the colorful production. The complex layering of each beat innovates the hyper-pop genre that Pantheress is known for, ultimately giving versatility to the sometimes repetitive style. Most of the beats on this album do a great job at scene setting, using retro sounds of the early 2000s and blending them with futuristic techniques. The song “Blue” is a pure house song you would hear inside a club or rave with upbeat instrumentals and one of the most addicting choruses on the album. 

There are even moments where PinkPantheress is angelically singing over genres she’s not accustomed to. The genre-blending on Heaven Knows feels natural and euphoric, unlike most albums that have been released this year trying to experiment with the pop-punk style. Pantheress’s performance over the alternative rock drum loop on “Ophelia” is impressive as she displays her feelings of delusion after being rejected, naming the song after the character in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” 

Although there are a few skips in this project like “Feelings” and “Bury me,” the messages in Heaven Knows are much more complex than in much of her previous work. Of course, there are still stories of her being a hopeless romantic on the song “True romance” where she writes from a perspective of a stan having hopes of being in a relationship with a famous performer on stage. However, there is also a deeper commentary on this album where she talks about a toxic relationship with an alcoholic on the song “Feel complete” and dealing with feelings of abandonment on “The aisle”. 

Perhaps the most compelling story is told in the album's interlude “Internet baby (interlude),” where Pantheress discusses how a guy is only seeing her for her internet fame caused by her music blowing up on TikTok instead of the actual person she is. “I am not your internet baby,” Pantheress repeatedly sings at the end of the interlude. 

Overall, Heaven Knows is an impressive debut album from PinkPantheress. Although the features didn’t perform at their best and there are some skips on its tracklist, it's an album where she was able to break herself out of the box when it comes to her hyper-pop style. Only heaven knows what the 22-year-old popstar will achieve next. 

Rating: 8/10