PinkPantheress ‘to hell with it’ Review: The TikTok Phenom’s Debut Mixtape – Stereogum

There may be no more definitively 2021 musical artist than PinkPantheress. Huge on TikTok, just barely past her teens, drenched in nostalgia for Y2K-era dance music, founded on overt sampling, intersecting with prevailing movements like bedroom pop and hyperpop and the pop-punk revival this still mostly anonymous 20-year-old university student from South London could not be more zeitgeisty if she tried. And with the release of her debut mixtape to hell with it this Friday, she becomes the latest organic viral sensation to be swept up into the major-label machine.

Although the oldest post on PinkPantheress TikTok account dates back to last Christmas, its the second video the one posted Jan. 29, captioned day 11 of posting a song every day bc i have nothing else to do that marks the proper beginning of her story. The 12-second clip found her with her face obscured singing over a sample of Flowers, UK garage duo Sweet Female Attitudes Erik Satie-inspired classic from 2000 (the year before PinkPantheress was born in Bath). Its 8 oclock in the morning, now Im entering my bed/ Had a few dreams about you, I cant tell you what we did, she sang, before collapsing into playful la la las that belied the heartache and longing on display in the lyrics. From its woozy, almost vaporwave-like keyboard loop to its airy singsong vocal, the track resembled Clairos bedroom-pop staple Pretty Girl reborn for the dance floor. Pain quickly took off on the platform, and with that, the PinkPantheress hype train had left the station.

Within days she had shared another song built on an instantly recognizable UK garage sample: Attracted To You flipped Just Jacks ska-infused 2007 smash Starz In Their Eyes into dreamy dance music that could almost slot into the Avalanches Since I Left You without missing a beat. More sample-based tracks ensued. Break It Off deployed Adam Fs drum n bass classic Circles as the canvas for a playfully flirtatious melodic flutter. Last Valentines turned a churning, translucent break from the early Linkin Park deep cut Forgotten into breathy, spidery dance-tinged rock.

Soon she was singing over original production that continued to evoke classic drum n bass and garage sounds. Those frenetic digital drums coursed through Noticed I Cried, produced by indie striver turned studio mainstay Oscar Scheller. Helmed by IZCO and Jkarri, Passion laced similar beats with soft acoustic guitars out of a pop-R&B ballad from the same era. Produced by Mura Masa, Just For Me topped off further acoustic textures with an android-like hyperpop vocal; its my favorite PinkPantheress track to date, one that most clearly affirms her potential to be a paradigm-shifting figure.

By spring Pain was on Spotify and rapidly climbing various viral charts. By summer the first round of interviews was popping up, with PinkPantheress repeatedly describing her sound as new nostalgic and citing the influence of Lily Allen and Hayley Williams. Just as quickly backlash arose, mostly from listeners old enough to recognize the source material. Critics have derided PinkPantheress for defiling the classics, reignited debates about obvious samples that date back to the height of No Way Out and Big Willie Style. Ive seen questions about whether anyone beyond Gen Z is too old to listen to PinkPantheress (echoing similar ridiculous discourse about Olivia Rodrigo this year) and speculation about when Drake will inevitably jump on one of her tracks. She has become a controversial figure before ever dropping an album.

Not that shes really releasing an album this week either. Out Friday on Parlophone, to hell with it compiles most of PinkPantheress early hits into a breezy 18-minute introductory statement. As a mixtape its kind of slight, which is in keeping with its TikTok origins and far preferable to a bloated tracklist full of cool-hunting guest-star interlopers. This is a collection you might find yourself running back from the top several times over. And anyhow, 10 quick tracks is more than enough to establish PinkPantheress talent for breathy, fragile, tender-but-chilly topline melodies. On tracks like Nineteen she reminds me quite a bit of Grimes, her predecessor in polarizing hyper-online pop stardom, with a coy British accent and none of the transhumanist sci-fi tendencies. Its a compelling voice, and the samples and originals behind it cohere into a distinct and pleasing sonic template that tweaks those retro dance styles just enough to make them feel hypermodern. PinkPantheress may not have pioneered this aesthetic, but for better or worse it belongs to her now. Im excited to see where she takes it.

Here is the original post:
PinkPantheress 'to hell with it' Review: The TikTok Phenom's Debut Mixtape - Stereogum