With her 2021 debut mixtape, PinkPantheress confidently declared To Hell with It. But on Nov. 10, she ascended from the underworld to paradise in her highly anticipated studio album, Heaven knows.
PinkPantheress has also traded in her original grungy, emo look for classic Y2K aesthetics (more on that later), but she hasn't completely departed from her gothic roots.
"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 that they've lost," she said in an interview with The Guardian. "Overall, I wanted to make everyone feel a bit depleted and sad."
It's an approach that is present in her earlier works — take To Hell with It's "Passion," for example, which narrates the growing nihilism felt by a child whose parents divorce. But on Heaven knows, she takes this and amplifies it with stories that are even more visceral and gut-wrenching, from the dejected emotions of "Feelings" to the deceivingly upbeat story of neglect in "The aisle."
The LP hosts 13 new tracks, including the viral hit that propelled the England native into the mainstream, "Boy's a liar Pt. 2," with rap's latest breakout star, Ice Spice. While her other Heaven knows collaborators tap into her Kenyan-British heritage — fellow Brit Central Cee, budding Nigerian musician Rema and Ethiopian-American singer Kelela are all featured — the album remains faithful to her signature blend of bedroom pop and UK garage. Yet, she continues to nurture her creative development with experimental songwriting.
On Heaven knows, PinkPatheress leans even further into her artistic individuality. Below, discover everything we learned about the rising star in this newest offering.
She Further Proves Her Knack For Music Old And New
If you travel to the beginning of PinkPantheress' discography, you'll find a medley of niche and mainstream samples. One of her first singles, "Just a Waste," interpolates Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall." "Break It Off," from To Hell with It, modernizes "Circles" by Adam F.; another mixtape track, "I Must Apologize," pays homage to Crystal Waters' dance chart-buster, "Gypsy Woman."
Heaven knows expands PinkPantheress' treasure chest. On the opening number, "Another life," she pulls stems from "Ice Cream" by f(x), who she's called "one of her favorite K-pop groups." "Nice to meet you" reimagines Spandau Ballet's "Gold," as she revealed in an ad with her producer, Cash Cobain.
She Also Proves Songs Don't Need To Be Long To Be Great
PinkPantheress' music has always been notoriously short. Her first mixtape is less than 20 minutes in length despite having 10 tracks — and the song with the longest runtime is "Nineteen," ringing in at two-and-a-half minutes. In the aforementioned ad with Cash Cobain, she even joked, "We only stick to one verse. I don't do second verses. That's ridiculous!"
She clearly kept the same mindset for Heaven knows because, with 13 songs, the album has a duration of 34 minutes. But if anything, PinkPantheress proves that bodies of work don't have to be more than three minutes to be impactful. In a little over 120 seconds, she can portray the harrowing trauma of mental illness ("No, I can't take a pill, and yet I can't stay still," she sings on "Feelings") and trauma responses ("I wish that it would when it stopped being fun/ 'He's not feeling well,' that's what I tell everyone/ Yesterday, I took a sip of your rum," from "Feel Complete").
She Hasn't Forgotten About Her TikTok Origins — But She's Cautious About It
PinkPantheress rose to fame on TikTok, previewing her music with faceless clips; though most have been deleted, some of the few that remain are her teasers for "Just a Waste" and "Pain." She told The Guardian that she would lie to her friends about her account because promoting songs on TikTok "wasn't much of a thing" at the time. But she has no regrets about her TikTok days: "I always knew that I was more than just the app. From the jump, I wasn't going to be a novelty artist," she explained.
Her only hesitation, however, is her future partners using her because of her social media clout. "I am not your internet baby," she confidently declares in the album's interlude. "Nice to meet you" further explores the woes of internet fame in Central Cee's verse, where he exposes his now ex for turning to "storytime videos" to leak the drama surrounding their breakup.
She's Channeling New (But Still Nostalgic) Vibes
PinkPantheress made quite the statement with her debut music video, 2021's "Just for Me." She stood in an all-black ensemble and bleached ginger eyebrows, performing in front of a sea of other characteristically punk teens, some sporting Slipknot graphic tees and others wearing bulky silver chains and arm warmers.
It's a complete 180 from her recent music video for "Mosquito," the lead single from Heaven knows. Like a modern-day Carrie Bradshaw, PinkPantheress wanders through a luxurious shopping area with her equally fashionable friends, played by actresses Charitha Chandran, India Amarteifio, and Yara Shahidi. On a TikTok highlighting the track, she called it the "emo to young auntie pipeline."
However, her current style isn't definitive. "I think I dress weird," she admitted to The Guardian. Her more mature, 2000s-inspired fashion might not define her five years from now, but it still signals personal growth in understanding her most authentic identity since To Hell with \
It. Like every parent of an emo teenager suggests, "Maybe it is just a phase.
'Heaven Knows' Is A Playground For Her Imagination
In a 2022 interview with the BBC, PinkPantheress professed her love for "telling stories in a visual or sonic way," highlighting Eminem's "Stan" as a perfect example of that. Storytelling comes naturally to her, thanks to her film studies at the University of Arts London. And though she admires the raw anecdotes from bands like My Chemical Romance, she opts for something that blurs the lines between fiction and nonfiction with realism.
On Heaven knows, PinkPantheress' world-building becomes more vivid. Rather than chronicling typical adolescent heartbreak and anxiety, she stretches her creativity with more intense vignettes, like the tale of an anguished woman whose relationship is crumbling due to alcoholism on "Feel Complete." Meanwhile, in "Ophelia," she plays with the idea of being murdered.
Whatever narratives she aims to take on next, Heaven knows promises that PinkPantheress will always be an ever-evolving star — one who will make you feel every word, whether it's from her story or her imagination.
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