‘Heaven knows’ ignites an ever-burning flame with stunning and experimental tracks 

On Nov. 10, PinkPantheress released her debut studio album “Heaven knows.” The release of this album has been highly anticipated since the release of her debut mix tape “to hell with it” nearly two years ago on Oct. 15, 2021.

Once she debuted at the age of 20, she quickly gained popularity on TikTok, which allowed her career to skyrocket with three Top-40 hits and even a cameo in the “Barbie” movie soundtrack.

The London-based artist and producer specializes in the genres of Pop, Rock, R&B, and Electronic. With such a wide range of genres shining throughout this album, it is no surprise that each song leaves the listener engaged.

Even when listened to on repeat, it is difficult to get bored of the carefully curated samples and instrumentals. The vocals are also nicely dusted with PinkPantheress’s British accent. Here are the highlights of the album:

“True romance“

The second track, “True romance,” starts with the sounds of cameras capturing photos, seemingly to represent a red carpet. Then a bright guitar is met with soft vocals telling a story about the song title. A positive beat and alluring instrumentation are brought into the mix, pausing for some audio of a crowd, matching the lyrics perfectly. 

This song provides an up-tempo and serene piece to shine on the album. Senior Zoe De La Torre said, “definitely my favorite, ‘True romance,’” adding, “I just think it’s super upbeat and catchy, I really like the funky sounds she uses at certain points and the chorus is so tuneful.” 

She also mentioned the lyrics and explained, “I love the lyrics ‘tell me why I don’t play about you, every song is about you’ because I think it’s really cute. It just overall creates such a good melody that keeps you attentive and listening.”

“Nice to meet you” (feat. Central Cee)

The fifth track, “Nice to meet you” (feat. Central Cee), provides the listener with an unexpected collaboration that makes for a profound track. Both British music icons, their voices blend surprisingly well together and the track seamlessly melts into Central Cee’s verse, which lays perfectly over the striking beat. 

The song starts with a quieter arrangement of notes that fade into the song, getting louder with the addition of a sparkling noise that is met with the introduction to the beat and Pink Pantheress’s melodic vocals. Towards the middle of the song, we get a drum sample that reminds me of the drums used in South Asian music, specifically older music, like “Haule Haule” by Sukhwinder Singh.

Central Cee’s verse comes shortly after, providing a different lyrical style to refresh the track towards the end.

“Bury me” (feat. Kelela)

The sixth track, “Bury me” (feat. Kelela), is another track that pleasantly surprised me, and is another one of my favorites. The production in the first few seconds follows the same style that we have heard in the previous songs, but then the listener is hit with an accelerating change in the production sliding into a crisp beat drop, hence signaling a lower-toned song. 

I think the feature on this song, Kelela, has a nice voice that goes along with PinkPantheress’s style usually, but since this song takes a different route, I think the feature here should’ve gone more along with the changed vibe of this song.

“Ophelia“

The eighth track, “Ophelia,” is a reference to William Shakespeare’s famous drama “Hamlet,” wherein the distressed character Ophelia dies by drowning. PinkPantheress depicts this scene in her lyrics, and with gentle, somber instrumentals. 

The song starts with what sounds like a soft harp and then we are hit with the sound of muffled noises alluding to the drowning. She then goes on to tell the sad story from Ophelia’s point of view.

Toward the end of the song, she samples water sounds and adds a muffling effect that makes it truly sound like she is drowning, and then at the end, we get just the soothing sounds of water. This balance of different sounds to create the environment for an homage to “Hamlet” makes this one a highlight in the album for me, but Zoe De La Torre would have to disagree.

“None of them were bad, I liked them all,” De La Torre said. “I think as I got towards the last ones they were kinda more like smoother songs… slower, [but I] like upbeat and funky… ‘Ophelia’ wasn’t bad… I was kinda just like ‘eh’.”

“Boy’s a liar Pt. 2“

The last track, the classic “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2,” also features another internet sensation, rapper Ice Spice. This song came out way before the album, and fans have loved it since, with it being used heavily on the social media platform TikTok, thus making it the perfect ending to the album. 

With a punchy fast beat still maintaining a classic softness, and a verse by Ice Spice that adds perfectly to the unserious vibe of this song, it’s no wonder that this is also one of Zoe De La Torre’s favorites.

She remarked, “Everybody likes ‘Boy’s a liar’ obviously, I love that song,” adding “I think the definite reason everyone loves it is because it’s such a lively and dance-able song. I know when I first heard it I was sitting in my room and had it on repeat, I couldn’t stop listening to the [song’s] catchiness.”

Why you should listen

PinkPantheress proved with this album that she doesn’t just make TikTok music, and her music carries a unique subsistence that is worth the listen. Zoe De La Torre agrees, stating, “I feel like it’s an album anyone can listen to, there has to be at least one song that people find good!”

She also mentioned that “PinkPantheress always brings such a catchy vibe to her music and knows how to catch people’s attention whether it be through funky sounds or a good beat or engaging lyrics,” adding, “It’s overall so well made and I’d definitely recommend it for people to listen to.” De La Torre also said she would rate this album “a solid 8/10.” I would have to slightly disagree, giving this album a 9/10 for stellar production quality.