Recommended Tracks: “man like you,” “baby,” “pretty in pink”
Similar Artists: Phoebe Bridgers, Lizzy McAlpine
The highly anticipated debut album from rising artist Keni Titus has arrived. AngelPink comprises the best parts of the singer-songwriter: her soft vocals, simple and lush instrumentals, catchy melodies, and lyricism that hits you in the gut. The record is textured and nuanced, balancing soft acoustic moments with vivid emotional depth that explores what it means to grow — both the good and the bad.
Keni begins the album with one of the softest and shortest songs on the album, “hound dog.” The song is a steady introduction with big horns that immediately pull back into something more intimate and reflective, setting the tone for an album that constantly balances surface shine with emotional depth. From there, songs like “hands to myself” linger in the space in between, exploring what love shows and what we hide.
“When I wrote ‘hands to myself’, I kept circling back to the whole grass is greener thing. The temptation, the quiet wondering, and thinking maybe you took something for granted. It’s really just an honest exploration of that pull … It’s about discovery and longing, and honestly just fumbling through trying to figure out what would actually make you happy.”
AngelPink’s strength as a debut comes from how Keni invites you into her inner world without overwhelming you. Her vocals are gentle but confident, and her lyrics feel like notes scribbled in a diary. There is sometimes a deep hopefulness, other times its defeat, but it is always earnest. In “in love again,” she faces the aching grief of watching someone move on, even after you let them go.
“man like you,” one of the most stripped tracks instrumentally, flips the script on traditional relationship dynamics and imagines moving through desire with the same casual entitlement often afforded to men. The eerie acoustics create a backdrop to the song’s message, allowing her voice to float effortlessly — the same kind of effortlessness she is commenting on. With cheeky lyrics like, “When I pretend that I don’t know you like the rain / It’s not all that deep, it’s just our thing,” and “Kiss you while I’m watching the news / Pressed against the mirror like I mean it,” she intentionally keeps the song playful, but only if you are listening and not actually hearing.
Halfway through, the album gets even more self-aware. In “leave me out cold,” she admits to her own contradictions, calling herself “a liar” who keeps “slamming every door closed” only to open it again, before practically asking to be abandoned: “Leave me out cold, walk away / ’cause I’m disappointing.”
On “baby,” on the other hand, she explores the lingering space someone leaves behind, and the cold breeze of a door not fully closed. Half-joking and admittedly half-serious, she asks, “Maybe we can make up / Just for one night, if it’s alright / Could you call me baby?” While not completely begging, she gives voice to the vulnerable hold your heart keeps on something, even as you walk away from it.
The end of the album finds the light at the end of the tunnel. “new doll” has a much bouncier melody, perfectly backing the sarcastic bite of the lyrics. It’s accepting but confrontational, being okay with knowing they’ve moved on and still being upset that you have to see it. Listeners then move onto the depressed stage of grieving a dead relationship in “off day.” Though honest in its depiction of moving through the world post-breakup, it feels filled with more peace than previously heard in the album.
While it almost seems like Keni has figured out everything she could about herself, “I’m a liar” finds one more layer of introspection, this time in the form of the honest admission of emotional unavailability. She softly sings, “Wish I could let you in / It’s just the way it is.”
But despite it all, Keni finds that the best way out is through in “pretty in pink.” She boldly proclaims that she is “happy with the way that it ended” and that there’s “something ’bout being half in love and half insane.” It’s not exactly triumph, nor is it complete acceptance, but something softer and more honest.
“’AngelPink’ is about losing yourself, then coming home — not to a person, but to yourself. I went through a breakup and a friend falling-out during this record. I felt really alone. Making this project reminded me that there are good, kind people who love me. And that making art is supposed to be fun. Not perfect — but fun. This album was a way of remembering who I am, and learning how to hold her gently.”
AngelPink finds the gentle acceptance that heartbreak can coexist with beauty, and that sometimes peace comes from letting yourself feel both at once. Keni explores girlhood as something vivid and multidimensional, full of beauty, insecurity, curiosity, and growth. It’s a debut that immerses itself into every feeling, good and bad, and brings you up and down with it. Her poetic, vulnerable songwriting and her perceptive storytelling bring listeners a debut that feels excitedly like it is just the beginning.
Keep up with Keni Titus: Instagram // TikTok // Spotify // Apple Music // YouTube
