Over the last decade, Mannequin Pussy’s star has steadily risen, with a series of well-received releases before making their Epitaph Records debut with 2019’s Patience, where everything came together brilliantly. They diversified their noisy punk of previous releases with catchier songs like “Drunk II” and “Patience”, as well as the prettiest songs in their catalog in “Who You Are” and “In Love Again”, which also have some of the most touching lyrics. The Perfect EP continued exploring this mix of tenderness and ferocity to superb effect, too.
Now Mannequin Pussy are back with I Got Heaven. They have once again reached another peak, delivering a complex, inquisitive record inspired by the threats that come from the outside world as well as the ones that come from inside the house, exploring the harmfulness of the religious right to the dark nights of the soul that result from breakups and life changes. The title challenges those who seek to hide behind a cross of avarice, judgment, and bigotry. Heaven is here right now, and we need to care for the people around us in the best way possible. While this might sound like a heavy listen, Mannequin Pussy have gelled like never before on a collection of songs with an optimal amount of shine courtesy of producer and collaborator John Congleton. I Got Heaven has some of their purest pop songs and some of their fiercest.
Congleton is one of the best there is right now, and he continues his winning streak here. Everything sounds a little more immediate, a little more urgent than on previous records. No one has captured the range and power of Marisa Dabice’s vocals this well before, and she has never sounded better, whether singing or screaming.
I Got Heaven is concerned with not just surviving but rebuilding something better. That began by writing the record together for the first time, and it has resulted in the finest document of Mannequin Pussy’s power to date. The title track and lead single erupts with Mannequin Pussy’s signature rage but unexpectedly builds into one of the prettiest choruses they’ve ever written. In “Loud Bark”, Dabice wrestles with the push and pull of loneliness, confessing she has the titular bark and a deep bite. This time, the quiet verse builds into a huge chorus.
“I Don’t Know You” is an acoustic-driven track that builds into a low boil with a guitar buzzing under the gentle keyboard. “Nothing Like (The Shape of You)” is a big glossy pop moment where Congleton’s production really shines. This catchy song is ready for its close-up. “Sometimes” is another blast of noisy pop with an addictive chorus.
While there are moments of beauty throughout I Got Heaven, Mannequin Pussy haven’t gone soft. “OK? OK! OK? OK!” features vocals from bassist Colins “Bear” Regisford, and Mannequin Pussy transform into a formidable hardcore outfit, complete with a killer breakdown. This raw sound is revisited in “Aching” and “Of Her”, two more highlights. These songs stand out not because they are throwbacks to the band’s earlier, rougher releases but because they show off how much stronger Mannequin Pussy sound now. On these tracks, they are as relentless as the best hardcore has to offer right now.
Closer “Split Me Open” is on par with the Patience standout “In Love Again”. That song was one of the best, most vulnerable expressions of happiness on the record, but this time, rather than reigniting a former flame, “Split Me Open” is more about rekindling desire and being open to letting someone in. After some of the more lacerating and fearless self-examination of the previous songs, it ends on a catchy note with the possibility of a new connection. It builds to a huge chorus and rides a synth to a pretty conclusion.
It would be dismissive to say I Got Heaven is more of the same; rather, it is the sound of a group that have fully clicked and have fine-tuned their signature sound into another high point. The rage is more deeply felt, the self-examination is more bracing, the wins more hard-fought, and the songs are up to carrying the thematic weight through to cathartic highs.