Heaven Knows＜Zoetrope Picture Vinyl＞

Already a social media star by the time her widely acclaimed mixtape To Hell with It changed the game in 2021, PinkPantheress made her mainstream breakthrough in 2023, when the Ice Spice-featuring sequel to her single "Boys a Liar" became a major worldwide hit. "Angel," an Irish folk-influenced tune recorded for Barbie: The Album, also gained the artist major exposure. The cover art for Heaven Knows, her debut full-length, suggests that PinkPantheress is undergoing a makeover as a singer of sultry R&B slow jams. In reality, the album is a fully developed refinement of the brisk, intricately arranged pop style shes become known for, with lyrics about romantic infatuations set to pulse-quickening liquid drumnbass, U.K. garage, and filter-house rhythms. Unlike her mixtape, all of the songs exceed two minutes this time around (though some of them just barely do), and most of them are packed with enough ideas to make them feel longer than they are. She co-produced the albums tracks along with previous collaborator Mura Masa, pop maven Greg Kurstin, Count Baldor, and others, with Danny L. Harle, Sam Gellaitry, and Oscar Scheller each making contributions. While the songs generally sound upbeat, the lyrics are much darker, describing obsessions taken to their extremes. The funereal organs and bursting storm clouds of "Another Life" provide the albums dramatic introduction, and the lyrics attempt to process the shock following the death of a partner. Several other songs mention thoughts of death -- on "Mosquito," PinkPantheress is only concerned about dying because it would separate her from her loved one, and "Ophelia" sonically illustrates a drowning scene with bubbling water effects, detached vocal glitches, and police sirens. The ominously titled "Bury Me," a drill-influenced duet with Kelela, is about the desire for more than a surface-level relationship, and "Internet Baby" also seems to search for something deeper, while feeling attracted by the pressure. On the boom-bap cut "Feel Complete," shes unsure if she ever really knew her partner, and she contemplates whether shell ever be able to love again during the ambitious, dazzling "Capable of Love." "Boys a Liar Pt. 2" is tucked away at the end as a bonus track, but it fits in perfectly with the albums themes of questioning trust in others as well as ones own self-worth. Crucially, the song is a joyous dance-pop delight with a bouncy, Jersey club-inspired beat. Even as PinkPantheress explores her deepest, darkest emotions, her songs are vibrant, hook-filled, and wildly inventive, making Heaven Knows just as worthy of repeated listens as To Hell with It, and confirming her status as a pop visionary. ~ Paul Simpson

UK発/Z時代を代表するアーティスト、PINKPANTHERESSの待望のデビュー作。可愛らしいボーカルにドラムンベースが心地よい洗練されたポップ/エレクトロミュージックで、とにかく最高の一言!全体的にダンサンブルなトラックが多いが、少し怪しげなオルガンから始まる"Another life"や、シューゲイザーを取り入れた"Capable of love"など多彩な楽曲もあり、テンポ感も良い。今年大ヒットとなったIce Spiceとのコラボ曲"Boy's a liar Pt.2"も収録されており、今の音楽シーンのトレンドに溢れた枚。
intoxicate (C)石田真生