Mannequin Pussy is Thrilling in 'I Got Heaven'

Mannequin Pussy has made a thrilling return with their new album I Got Heaven, their first full-length work since Romantic in late 2016, nearly 8 years ago. This album seems like the next step in an artistic career that’s a decade old but is just getting started.

The album opens with the titular “I Got Heaven,” a simultaneously tender and intense track that perfectly sets the tone of the band’s new era. Released as their first new single off their latest album in late August, frontwoman Marisa Dabice — along with her bandmates Colins “Bear” Regisford, Kaleen Reading, and Maxine Steen — bursts through the front door, shakes off the cobwebs, and commands your attention with a power that sweeps you off your feet. The song starts with Dabice singing “I went and walked myself / Like a dog without a leash,” immediately exposing the beating heart of the album; the world is feeling more and more frightening, so what can we do but scream?

“I Got Heaven” continues by punching up at religion, illustrating a theme that runs through the whole album. Dabice asks “And what if wе stopped spinning? / And what if we're just flat? / And what if Jesus himself ate my fucking snatch?” She quickly grounds the questions, asking the listener if she can still be loved despite her confidence. In this way, it’s clear that Mannequin Pussy hasn’t lost their feminist spark that was so prevalent in their earlier work. While they may be tackling larger themes, at its heart, their work is rooted in the struggles of the feminine experience.

In spite of the howling, electric performances that Mannequin Pussy is known for, I Got Heaven is a playground of instrumentation, experimentation, and tenderness. For instance, on “I Don’t Know You,” Dabice sings about a secret she is keeping. In a tender voice, she sings “There are three little words / That I wish I had said / But I wouldn't tell you / No, I couldn't tell you,” revealing the embarrassment of baring it all to a crush. Under the vocals, a growling guitar and droning synth melody leave space for Dabice to ruminate on the nature of her love for her crush and invite the audience to reflect themselves.

The album ends with “Split Me Open,” the longest and most intricate track out of the ten on I Got Heaven. It is another one of Mannequin Pussy’s nontraditional love songs about how the strength of your own passion may come back to bite you. The lyrics continue with the religious imagery, stating “My body’s a temple / It was built for you.”

Like their previous releases, namely “Control” and “Drunk II,” “Split Me Open” explores the theme of doomed love that is so common within their discography. It is extremely effective as a final track — not only does it live in the aural world of the rest of I Got Heaven thanks to producer John Congleton, but it also ties back into their previous works. At the end of “Split Me Open,” Dabice chants “Nothing’s gonna change” over and over, almost as much a comfort to herself as it is a declaration to the audience. This mimics very closely the repetitive line in “Control”: “Something’s in your eyes” is chanted over and over as a part of another toxic infatuation.

I Got Heaven proves that Mannequin Pussy has grown into their own unique sound while still remaining true to themselves. At a time when politics, religious intolerance, and heartbreak seem to be looming large over all of us, Mannequin Pussy situates themselves as the gods of their own circumstance, and I Got Heaven makes a great argument that the audience should do the same.