Track Review: Pinkpantheress, ‘Mosquito’

Of the two breakout stars behind the Bulletin Awards-nominated global smash hit “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2,” Pinkpantheress has taken a relatively slow pace in terms of musical output. While Ice Spice pumped out several big-name features, a deluxe version of her debut EP, and a Barbie hit, Pinkpantheress the B-side to the original solo version of “Boy’s A Liar” and collaborations with Skrillex, Troye Sivan, and Destroy Lonely. With “Mosquito,” the English singer and producer officially launches the campaign for her debut album with one of her most personal and insightful offerings yet.

In this team-up with Grammy-winning producer Greg Kurstin, Pinkpantheress surveys how her relationship to wealth and material things has changed since “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” catapulted her to another level of global stardom at the top of the year. “I had prayed out loud and, Lord, you answered me too early / I was too young startin' out, now I'm too scared that you might leave me,” she sings. Her childlike, Betty Boop-esque timbre adds a layer of lost innocence to her introspective lyrics.

It’s quite a devastating look at the challenge of gracefully navigating the myriad pitfalls of the music industry, but Pinkpantheress smartly balances that emotional heft with a comparatively lighter hook. Across the arrangement, there’s a nice back-and-forth between the dream pop synths and the relatively subdued UK garage production that highlights the tension at the heart of her songwriting.

Since blowing up with “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” and her well-researched commitment to Y2K fashion aesthetics, Pinkpantheress has become one of the most talked about artists of the year despite most of us not really knowing much about her. That’s where “Mosquito” excels; the new track offers a glimpse inside Pinkpantheress the person and how she’s evolved since conquering the world. Not only is “Mosquito” a strong lead single, it’s a damn good song to boot.

Score: 76