In 2021, a handful of musical clips uploaded by the user PinkPantheress went viral on TikTok. They gained millions of views thanks to the anonymous producer’s infectious blend of throwback UK garage beats and speak-sung vocals. It gradually emerged that a 20-year-old London student was behind those tracks. After a major label signing, PinkPantheress (who has kept her name private) has since produced a Billboard Top 10 hit earlier this year with single Boy’s a Liar Pt 2.
Her debut album is thus one of the most hotly anticipated of 2023 – and it delivers, in parts. When she channels early 2000s dancefloor sounds, such as on the breakbeats of Another Life, Mosquito’s UK garage acoustic guitar samples and the two-step drums of Blue, she is on safe and satisfying ground, playing to the nostalgia of millennial listeners while giving Gen Z something new. But while they are enough to engage on singles or social media, the sonic palette and constant Auto-Tuned falsetto grow monotonous over an entire album. Ultimately, Heaven Knows needed to move beyond PinkPantheress’s TikTok formula to break new ground, but is still stuck in the sounds of the past.
