I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy

Review written by Cassiopeia

Mannequin Pussy’s newest release I Got Heaven is as raw as it is well produced. They’ve established a modern grrrl riot sound, with clean guitar reverbs and professional equipment. John Congleton worked closely with the band as a producer for the entire album, this being their first project together. It’s a testament to how far the band has come since their first self-titled album, as Congleton works with a lot of big names in the indie rock scene. They are no longer playing in their garage. Mannequin Pussy proves that you can clean up your sound and still keep your authenticity in I Got Heaven.

Marissa “Missy” Dabice sings like the words are getting pried out of her. Her style can be described as “controlled chaos.” The measured gasps and quavers in Missy’s voice coincide with the lyrics. Sometimes Mannequin Pussy is quiet and vulnerable, and other times they are reaching through the speakers and yelling right in your ear. Missy screams until her vocal chords are raw and you feel the scratch through your headphones. There’s pure anger and emotion cushioned around instruments that act as a shield. One thing that cannot be said of Mannequin Pussy is that they lack energy. The sound swells and silences at just the right moments. There is a push and pull that is shown repeatedly within the lyrics and sound. There are moments that feel almost whimsical in its playfulness, like the chorus in “I Got Heaven” that serves as a break from the anger that fuels the rest of the song. The third track, “Nothing Like,” plays the most into their newfound playfulness. Even when Missy is belting, she is backed by a lofty head voice. There’s a good relationship between that song and the next track, “I Don’t Know.” In this one, they kept a lot of the stripped vulnerability from “Nothing Like,” but without the dreamy layer. “I Don’t Know” builds up to this big gritty guitar that swells your soul when backed up with a forever building keyboard and swooning vocals. Mannequin Pussy has mastered a gratifying build up in this album. The sound is filled in such a way that any absences are well noticed. When instruments are stripped away in favor of vulnerability, it makes the emotional resolution that much more prominent when it all rushes back in. Mannequin Pussy takes us through their anger, sadness, and joy in all under four minutes.

I Got Heaven encapsulates the desire to be known and loved and the horrifying ordeal of it. The first two tracks use dogs in their lyrics, such as the thematic trope of a wild dog that bares its teeth and doesn’t know why. The first track, “I Got Heaven” uses the analogy of a dog without a leash to describe freedom at first. However, as the song progresses we see how that solitude has transformed into loneliness, an emptiness that she’s unsure she’s ready to fill with an empty pattern she’s seen repeated by her parents. In “Loud Bark,” she sings, “I want to be danger / I want to be adored / I want to walk around at night while being ignored.” She’s connected to the dog because she wants and needs love and affection but is equally terrified of it. The experience of being a woman is prevalent throughout the album. Similarly to the themes of the dog, Missy sings about the defenses she’s built around herself as a woman and the anger of feeling hurt. “Of Her” is about the complicated relationship between mothers and daughters. It is bittersweet to be given a future that was denied your mother. The song is loud and angry, similar to the sixth track, “OK? OK! OK? OK!”, with lyrics like “You think this pussy’s easy / You’re gonna have to / Beg / And Heel”. Both songs share an experience with womanhood surrounding control, either being granted it in “Of Her,” or having to forcefully take it in “OK? OK! OK? OK!” The ninth track, “Aching,” is about finding freedom within sexual release. Similarly to the lyrics in “OK? OK! OK? OK!”, sex is used as a tool for control. Their last song “Split Me Open,” has a different attitude towards sex. It encapsulates an overarching theme, of being lonely and craving love and then pushing it away when it gets too close. The first half is dreamy and desperate, with Missy singing, “Split me open / Pour your love in me,” only to pull back in the chorus. It’s a final plea for connection and an interesting choice for the closing song.

I Got Heaven is a well planned album. The songs work as a set, referencing each other in sound and lyric. The album captures very human feelings that are complicated and contradict themselves. In 2024, we need more female-fronted bands that aren’t afraid to scream and bare their teeth. It’s brave to be vulnerable in a world that’s harsh and cruel. Underneath the layers of screams and production are people who want to love and be loved back. We all need reminders sometimes that we aren’t the only ones that have ever felt the way we do. Mannequin Pussy lets us revel in that for a while, because even people who are a bit fucked up can still comfort each other.