Heaven Knows
By James Yu Dec. 14, 2023
As the spices of life—luminant summer nights, lucious long weekends, lustrous thanksgiving turkey—freeze into memory like ice, much of singer and music producer PinkPatheress’ newest album “Heaven Knows,” melts into obscurity while its lead single, “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2,” which features rapper Ice Spice, steals the spotlight. However, for listeners searching for exciting and energetic songs to listen to as the seasons shift to winter doom and finals gloom, “Heaven Knows” exceeds in satisfying listeners’ hunt.
Despite its complete 13 track length, “Heaven Knows” maintains a coherent aura from beginning to end. Starting track “Another Life” opens with an eerie orchestral organ instrumental before quickly switching into an upbeat, breakneck synth accompaniment. The following song, “True Romance,” builds off of “Another Life”’s uplifting vibe, mixing a lively acoustic accompaniment with a vigorous clapping beat. Through “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2,” the last song on the album, PinkPantheress is able to utilize dynamic synths and “Jersey Club” style beats to foster a consistently vivacious atmosphere.
However, what truly sets the album apart from other organized projects is PinkPatheress’ strong vocal performance. Throughout the record, PinkPatheress’ lyrics take advantage of each song’s unique melodies to accentuate the uniform record’s deformities. In “Feelings,” PinkPantheress’ wispy vocals build on top of the instrumental’s clicky rhythm, constructing a brazen and stirringly melodramatic song. Likewise, in “Mosquito,” PinkPantheress’ steady vocals blend into the ebullient instrumental, concocting a lush melodic tune.
In spite of these factors, “Heaven Knows” is held back due to its artist features. Although PinkPatheress’ strident verses on “Nice to meet you” mesh well with the playful melody, Central Cee’s feature verse sounds out of place, adding a blunt British rap verse over a fairy-like background track. Similarly, Rema’s feature verse in “Another Life” leaves much to be desired, with an awkward insertion of a Playboy Carti-like verse into a song which already felt complete with just PinkPantheress’ lyrics.
Overall, “Another Life” shines brightest when PinkPatheress is able to take control of each song from top to bottom. For instance, in “Blue,” PinkPatheress mingles a bouncy chorus with funky verses and hypnotic beats to synthesize a carefree, joyful song. In the same way, in “Capable of Love,” PinkPatheress mashes expressive vocals with sharp harp and guitar instrumentals to write a fluid, grandiose story within a song. With the year coming to a close, PinkPatheress’ newest album offers listeners a strong listen jam packed with enough spice to ride out the icy cold holidays.
About the Contributor
James Yu
staff writer
James Yu is a sophomore at Leland High School and a staff writer for The Charger Account. During his free time, he's obsessing over Speech and Debate, an active Boy Scout, and hanging out with friends.
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