PinkPantheress Turns the Club Into a Diary on “Fancy That”
Britain’s singer-songwriter-producer PinkPantheress returns with an album that is bound to become the new “BRAT summer” of 2025. With a run time of 20 minutes, Fancy That features 9 tracks riddled with various throwback samples from the 2000s that could be hard to miss for the average listener, fueling the album's nostalgic sound. Pink continues to ride the wave of EDM and club-inspired pop, genres currently pushed into the mainstream by artists like Charli XCX and The Dare, while putting her uniquely delicate spin on it.
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Fancy That remains faithful to Pink’s signature U.K. garage-rooted sound, seamlessly meshed with her soft soprano vocals. A blend of dreamy hyperpop and club beats, the album is filled with synths, punchy basslines, and lyrics that combine cleverness with charm. The result is a sweetly intoxicating listen that is impossible not to sway along to.
“Illegal” stands out as a flirty anthem built around a secret relationship, with an earworm of a chorus: “One after one, now you're sittin' on my bed / Then, later on, we can talk on it instead.” The bridge even flirts with suggestion through exaggerated breathing, an increasingly popular detail within recent releases such as Doechii’s “DENIAL IS A RIVER”
“Girl Like Me” is an upbeat track that in contrast reflects on an unsatisfactory relationship, flipping Basement Jaxx's iconic electronic “Romeo” into a fierce, femme pop track. “Tonight” boldly opens with a sample of Panic! At The Disco’s “Do You Know What I’m Seeing?”, transforming emo nostalgia into a sultry, sex-driven track. The smooth tension of the song pairs effortlessly with its Bridgerton-inspired music video, which rightfully captivated the internet upon its release.
“Stars” contains my favorite use of a sample on the record: Just Jack’s 2007 hit “Starz In Their Eyes.” Pink reimages the track into the refrain, “Why'd you wanna go and put stars in their eyes?” layering it over a four-on-the-floor beat to craft a sleek house track with a retro flair.
After this point, the album begins to dissolve as tracks start to echo each other. Though the latter tracks uphold the hyperpop standard and maintain their danceability, they lack the bold hooks that made the forerunners so memorable.
Still, this cohesive haze might be the point. PinkPantheress isn't trying to manufacture obvious bangers; she’s crafting a mood. It’s the kind of album that feels like getting ready with your girls before going out, texting your situationship at 1 a.m., or walking home alone with your headphones turned all the way up. Fancy That takes its audience on a glittery detour through early-2000s nostalgia while twisting it into her own unique sound that expands the genre into more emotional territory.
With Fancy That, Pink continues to define her lane in the new wave of hyperpop and club revivalism. She’s not just pulling from the past, she’s creating it into something youthful, feminine, and undeniably now.
