PinkPantheress goes back to basics in pursuit of riskier territory, shedding her skin and spicing up her sound with the release of her sophomore mixtape, “Fancy That”.
Last August, PinkPantheress announced the sudden cancellation of her remaining 2024 tour dates, choosing to prioritise her own physical health and wellbeing over debut album obligations. The news disappointed many a fan, one could make the case that Gen Z’s favourite pop prodigy had finally pushed through TikTok virality status with her polished 2023 record, Heaven knows. Alas, she sought to regroup and directed her focus to revisiting her DIY roots.On New Years’ Day, she tweeted photos of her back at work in a home studio setup, plus the caption: “oh we are soooo back #2025”. Now, after much anticipation, the 24-year-old people’s princess returns with “Fancy That”, a 9-track passion project with a proper rollout rooted in British culture and the transatlantic pull of America. For the half-Kenyan musician born in Kent, her sophomore mixtape marks a new chapter in her evolution: fun and flirty “Abercrombie & Kitsch”, as she puts it.
It’s a short affair, just under 20 minutes in length, and is very much akin to the structural output of her breakthrough 2021 debut mixtape “to hell with it”, better known to Pink as her uni bedroom era of GarageBand experimentation. Unlike Heaven knows which boasts Central Cee, Kelela, Rema and her biggest hit to date, “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” featuring Ice Spice, she stands firmly on her own two feet on Fancy That with no collaborations. Once you get past the short song stigma of this latest body of work – it is, of course, her signature formula – you’re greeted with a cinematic ode to the classic dance tracks that soundtracked her youth. Pink and Norwegian producer aksel arvid, serving as exec, reimagine elements of old skool jungle, drum and bass, and 2-step garage to accompany her famous ethereal vocals, siren-like melodies and poetic lyricism. Jam-packed with emotive earworms heavily influenced by Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim and Groove Armada, Fancy That is the perfect recession indicator for summer radio.
“My name is Pink and I’m really glad to meet you”, she introduces on “Illegal”. Coy and alluring, Pink coaxes us into uncharted maximalist, hedonistic territory unlike anything we’ve seen from her. From the get-go, Underworld’s “Dark & Long – Dark Train Mix” transports the listener back to 1996 and sets the immediate tone for the rest of Pink’s nostalgia-fuelled, tartan cut and paste interpretation of Rule, Britannia! Choose lippy. Choose a red telephone box. Choose a London black cab. Choose the crown jewels, says mixtape artwork. It’s a thumping opener, just as grandiose as Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting for which the anthemic sample became best known. Though there is no talk here of buzzcut boys going through heroin withdrawal or babies crawling on ceilings. Instead, Pink equates the taboo of a secret relationship to substance use, emulating the short-term fear and anxiety of weed consumption with rhythmic breathing on the song’s bridge. “Hey! Ouuuuu, is this illegal?”, she gloats.
Love it or hate it, Pink’s penchant for heavy sampling is a staple of her sound – observe the likes of Chester Bennington and Crystal Waters on the “to hell with it” credits. “Girl Like Me”, first teased on The Lot Radio in March, continues a short-lived streak of uptempo, high energy bangers. Giving the royal middle finger to her haters, she samples Basement Jaxx’s “Romeo” to convey a care-free approach over her frustrations with a romantic partner. On the sunny, synth-powered “Stars”, to similar effect, Pink’s use of Just Jack’s “Starz In Their Eyes” from 2006 is a throwback to simpler times, having previously incorporated it into her 2021 song “Attracted To You”.
Pink releases her inhibitions once again on “Tonight”, the mixtape’s mature lead single marketed with a baroque, “Bridgerton mode” visual. It samples the first 12 seconds of Panic! At the Disco’s “Do You Know What I’m Seeing?”, transitioning from orchestral string arrangements to bassline-driven dub production steered by Count Baldor. A far cry from the hopeless romanticism of songs like “Last Valentines” and “Capable of love”, Pink shows a little leg on “Tonight”, sonically speaking: “You want sex with me, come talk to me”, she decrees. “Your sex on fire, that’s where we’re going tonight.”
“Fancy That”‘s 25-second-long “Intermission” promises to “switch the vibe a little” and marks a tonal shift in mixtape momentum: the comedown, if you will. Seamlessly followed by “Noises”, a horror story about the paranoia that comes with being home alone, Pink layers vocals from Nardo Wick’s 2021 trap hit “Who Want Smoke??” over a pensive drum and bass instrumental. “Nice to Know You”, with writing and production assists from Oscar Scheller, is even moodier – like something off DJ-Kicks: Kemistry & Storm or Burial’s Untrue. Stunningly, Pink opts to sample Sugababes deep cut “Spiral”, from William Orbit’s 2006 album Hello Waveforms, for this tale of complex interpersonal relationships and emotional unavailability.
“Stateside”, the mixtape’s second single and Pink’s personal favourite track on the project, enlists electro-clash king The Dare to pick up the pace in the form of a Xenomia-style big beat tune interpolating Sugababes’ “Freak Like Me”. “I’ll take the same flight, wait at your bedside”, Pink writes, obsessing over the idea of “flying intercontinental” with an American boy over an unforgettable hook that rivals Estelle’s. According to an interview with BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, it’s a song about giving up on British men after years of trying in the UK dating scene. Leaning into the auntie-core aesthetic of her brand, the “Stateside” visual sees Pink surrounded by a hoard of hot American boys in the parking lot of a JCPenney.
Closing out the mixtape is “Romeo”, and sees Pink once again turn to Basement Jaxx – this time sampling “Good Luck”. A breezy, sugarcoated swan song that functions much like “Stars” before it, it’s fleeting and purposefully unserious, but ultimately a cheery farewell. A wink to her fans and a bold reset before her next era sees the light of day. If “Fancy That” is anything to go by, PinkPantheress has found comfort in the chaos of reinvention. What lies in store next could defy every box she’s ever been put in.
Words – Douglas Jardim
