PinkPantheress’ “Fancy That” is Simple Yet Sophisticated

PinkPantheress in the music video for "Illegal". Credit: Warner Records UK.

With a runtime of just over 20 minutes, “Fancy That”, the second mixtape from British pop singer-producer PinkPantheress (real name Victoria Walker), feels like a mixtape in the truest sense of the word.

At a time when it’s all too common for artists to release full-length projects and label them as mixtapes as opposed to albums, “Fancy That”, which comes two years after Walker’s debut album “Heaven Knows”, is sure of what it is. Breezy and layered, the project quickly gives listeners a good time and sends them on their way.

Infamous for her miraculously short songs (almost always under 3 minutes), PinkPantheress had her first brush with global success in 2023 with “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” featuring Ice Spice. The song encapsulates the singer's signature sound, combining a catchy hook with a repetitive, electronic beat. Its success made her an icon for Gen Z, who glom onto her penchant for the “Y2K aesthetic”.

Like most of PinkPantheress’ music, “Fancy That” is a collection of songs about being

young and down for a good time. It sounds trite, but the singer’s clever lyrics and

thumping beats make these tracks irresistible. The opening track, “Illegal”, which

compares a secret relationship to a drug deal, sets the tone for the album’s themes,

which mostly deal in casual relationships on the brink of wild lust or dissolution.

“I like the fact that we don’t communicate, as long as you don’t tell all your best mates” Walker teases, sounding like she has little to lose. On the project’s lead single “Tonight”, the

singer poses simple questions with even simpler answers. “You want sex with me?

Come talk to me.” She states plainly. It’s nothing poetic, but it sounds just right and feels

even better. With the right momentum, it could be a summer hit.

The project’s second single, “Stateside”, serves as an “American Boy” for TikTok

generation. Delighting in a newfound romance with a boy from across the pond, Walker

claims, “No one treats me this way, are all the boys here the same?”. How exactly this

imagined boy treats her, and whether that treatment is actually admirable, is immaterial.

It’s all about the intrigue of the unfamiliar. Walker seems keenly aware of that intrigue.

The choice to name the mixtape “Fancy That”, a distinctly British phrase, and surround

herself with obviously British symbols like a crown on the project’s cover, feels less like

an expression of national pride and more like good branding. After the success of “Boys

a Liar” in the United States, where it peaked at #3 on the Hot 100, Walker is keeping in mind that she has an audience in America who finds her Britishness cheeky.

Though she flirts with America, the Brit's music still remains steeped in the U.K.,

taking inspiration from Garage and Drum and Bass. Many of the album’s samples, like “Nice to Know You” by the Sugababes and “Good Luck” by Basement Jaxx, are lifted from U.K. artists. With samples on five of the album’s nine tracks, Walker borrows heavily from past innovations, but on her third full-length release, the singer has developed a distinct sound that feels all her own.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the playfulness of “Fancy That”, but you might have a

hard time telling tracks apart from one another. The PinkPantheress’ formula, while

reliably delightful, obscures the songs’ distinguishable features.

Cohesion is one thing, but here, the listener walks away from each track with the same light, vaguely blissful feeling. Despite the complexity of the production, some of the tracks could have benefited from an inspired feature to assist. The closest thing to a featured artist on the project is a spoken portion performed by American rapper Nardo Wick on “Noises”, leaving Walker sounding a little lonely. Still, PinkPantheress’ uncanny ability to craft a catchy tune, along with her image savvy, is enough to have you playing her on a loop.