Continuing on with my journey through the Primavera line-up, I've chosen to keep with the y2k throwback theme with PinkPantheress' latest mixtape, Fancy That. PinkPantheress' rise has been pretty substantial over the years. I remember Pain blowing up on TikTok in the back end of the pandemic, then Boy's a Liar really broke her into the mainstream a couple of years ago, and now I'd say she's one of the biggest current gen UK popstars. I've heard plenty of her big songs on the internet and on the radio (and enjoyed them), yet this is my first time fully dicing into one of her projects.
For those who have (somehow) not heard a PinkPantheress song before, her bread and butter is self-produced, short and speedy fusions of early 2000's UK garage and dance pop. Her songs are snappy and run at a break-neck pace, jammed full of hooks with not a second wasted. This mixtape is 20 minutes long with nine tracks, without second of empty space or a moment to breath. The first half of the project in particular hits you with banger after banger. Illegal opens up the record with a bang, featuring a killer Underworld sample against a classic 2-step drumbeat and a damn catchy hook. "Is this illegal?, It Feels illegal" PinkPantheress asks on the topic of a naughty or forbidden romance. No wonder it blew up on TikTok. This then runs straight into the equally energetic Girl Like Me that flips Bassment Jaxx's Romeo into a garage jam. Tonight was the lead single for the record and features the most 'stuff' out of any of the songs here: a detailed narrative, layers of airy synths, a squelchy 808 bassline, several different melodic hooks. Pink's vocals are playful and fun. It seamlessly transitions into Stars, a track built around a brilliant sample of Just Jack's Starz in Their Eyes which is just pure childhood nostalgia for anyone around my age.
Unfortunately I do feel like the short track lengths and breakneck pace leave some of the tracks in the second half to feel a little less developed and densely packed as the front end of the project. Noises is over in a flash after not really doing much and Nice to Know You's cinematic strings voiced synths don't really do much for me, and the song lacks a punchy hook like many of the others here. Stateside has blown up as a big radio single thanks to the Zara Larsen featured remix, but I feel like structurally it is the most straightforward radio-friendly pop song here with less emphasis on the garage drumbeats and edgy synths. The Groove Armada sample is appreciated though. Romeo closes out the record with a bit more an upswing as it brings back the tension and dynamics of the earlier tracks.
There's some great stuff on Fancy That, but its over in a flash and so I find it hard to truly sink into the project. The combined with the somewhat weaker second half means I'm not sure I'd ever really come back to it in full, despite how much fun the highlights on the record are. I'm still definitely going to try to catch PinkPantheress at Primavera (clashes pending), as she has a full set's worth of bangers across her career now and her live show looks like it has a lot of energy.
Top Tracks: Illegal, Girl Like Me, Tonight, Stars
6/10
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