By Jane Wilde 

Public Relations Manager

Within just a few years of breaking into the music industry, PinkPantheress’ popularity has skyrocketed, with her music permeating the Billboard Hot 100 chart, in the UK and the US. Pantheress introduces a new game-changing sound to the music scene while also capturing one reminiscent of 90s dance music. On May 29, Pink Pantheress released her third studio album titled Fancy That. Totaling to just under 20 minutes, fans’ biggest complaint is wishing the album were longer! 

Pantheress is a producer first and foremost, working for names like Kaytranada, Childish Gambino, and Mura Masa. The once-in-a-generation talent’s mastery in producing is prevalent through the excellence of this album. It includes several addictive choruses while seamlessly incorporating elements of UK pop, rock, and 90s-esque electronic music. My personal favorite, Stateside, samples the 90s hit, Freak Like Me by singer-songwriter Adina Howard. Pantheress explained that the songs are a mixtape, rather than an album, due to the abundance of samples used to create each song. She told Apple Music Radio, “So if I went in thinking it was an album, then I would have gone into it with that mindset. And it probably would have been different in some ways, whether it was less samples…whether my lyrics would be a bit more cohesive.”

Track one, Illegal, is an instant hit sampling from another 90s classic, Dark and Long by Underworld. Additionally, track 4, Stars, includes a catchy hook with the lyrics, “Why’d you wanna go and put stars in your eyes?” The final track, Romeo, begins with an addictive electric guitar progression, setting the mood for the rest of the song. In Romeo, Pantheress captures the narrative of what it’s like to love in the digital age, reaching her predominantly Gen-Z audience. 

  My largest critique of the mixtape is its familiarity. Each track includes a fast BPM and Pantheress’s iconic “hey” and “yuhs” accompanied by loud synth in the background. While having a signature sound is ideal in the music industry, hers has become so signature that each song begins to sound the same. It would be refreshing to hear something adventurous and new from her. However, her consistency is impressive and underappreciated by the rest of the music community. It’s incredibly rare for an artist to never have had a bad song, yet the 23-year-old hits it out of the park each time. Pantheress’s discography serves as a testament that complex, deep lyrics aren’t imperative to making a good record. If anything, her ability to be playful and lighthearted is refreshing in today’s performatively poetic music industry. Her innovative sampling, playful creativity, and ability to seamlessly mix genres from different eras make her a prominent figure in modern pop.