I Got Heaven – Mannequin Pussy

Year	Album	Artist	Stars	Score	Genre
2024	I Got Heaven	Mannequin Pussy	★★★½	78	Rock	Alternative Rock	Punk

Growth and maturity have been Mannequin Pussy’s story since their debut in 2014, which was an 18 minute record with 10 tracks that each thrashed for about 90 seconds. 

With each release since, Mannequin Pussy has slowly refined their sound, leaning less on hardcore fuzz and more on some anthemic, pop rock choruses with grunge and dream pop guitars, while maintaining their punky energy. Their songs have felt more fleshed out compared to brief snippets and ideas of their earlier records, and their albums have also grown to the point where they feel less like EPs and more like complete works. 

I Got Heaven is their fourth record, but the first to reach the 30-minute mark. Even if the band’s edge — which allowed them to stand out before in a great way — has really been toned down musically, they’re executing their new, more accessible rock approach at an extremely high level while continuing to write aggressive, confident, sometimes crass lyrics about relationships and the passing of time. 

The opening track has a raucous, shouting verse that contrasts brilliantly with the song’s soothing, warm shoegaze chorus. “Loud Bark” does the opposite, opening with a bright, soft acoustic passage and gentle vocals that build to a more muddy, yelling chorus with backing layers. “Nothing Like” then reminds me of when the Smashing Pumpkins would experiment with dream pop in the late 1990s like on “Perfect.” You get this wispy guitar riff, a mechanical drum track that almost feels like a drum machine, layers of guitar chords on the chorus, with a weighty outro in halftime. “I Don’t Know You” has a similar smooth verse, with building shoegaze layers that never get too loud, and “Sometimes” adds in more energy.

I could go on, but most tracks here really follow that style and same effects pedal, other than the three short, hardcore rockers “OK? OK! OK? OK!“ “Of Her” and “Aching,” which feel raw, aggressive, emotion packed and maybe a little out of place.  

That’s my one hang up with this album though. Even if Mannequin Pussy is executing this 1990s-influenced alt rock kind of sound  –  a sound that I love and am almost always drawn to — the formulaic nature of the tracks makes the record predictable compared to the more carefree, youthful experimentation of the old days.

I probably like seven or eight of the 10 tracks here, but I don’t think any really stand out in terms of quality or intrigue other than maybe the title track, which brings all their different elements together. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes me think that there’s still one more level above this that the band can reach.