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Photo by Victoria Davidoff

The best way to counteract the pressure of a debut album is to make it an extension of yourself, an accumulation of everything you love about music, art, the world. It’s no small feat, but when it happens it appears effortless. AngelPink, the debut album from Keni Titus, embodies this quality and more. Whether you've been anticipating this album for years or being introduced to Keni at this very moment – a first front to back listen is like a handbook to her soul. 

AngelPink is scrolling through Tumblr to find the perfect photoset to reblog. It’s girlhood in the most stereotypical way combined with the darkness underneath the baby pink persona. It’s being the one to break things off but feeling heartbreak all the same. Most importantly, it touches on anything and everything that is Keni Titus. The visual language of AngelPink is as paramount as its lyrics and instrumentation, communicated through ice cream cones and pink balloons and American Apparel tennis skirts. Even the Spotify canvases are like their own piece of art, embellished with photos straight from her camera roll that provide Pinterest board-like context for each song. For Keni, a private Instagram account is poetic and crucial to the world building of her debut album. All of these things contribute to what makes AngelPink feel so personal. 

Then there’s the music, a collection of 10 tracks that walk the line between fragility and grit. Keni writes so honestly, delivered with a gentle vocal and the truth of her feminine experience. A main theme of AngelPink is the push and pull of being let down and being the one to disappoint. The album opens with “hound dog” which begins with one of its most potent lyrics: “How much for a hound dog? / I hear they stick around.” By the halfway mark, Keni not only acknowledges her own hand in disappointment but accepts it. In “leave me out cold” she sings, “I'm crossing all your lines, couldn't stay / Don't know where my heart is / I'm no good for you / 'Cause I'm just myself.” By “pretty in pink”, the all encompassing finale, there’s a clear feeling of peace and security with herself. She can accept that it’s natural to feel lonely without regret.

There is so much to be said about this album, it’s themes, visuals, and heart. At the end of the day, Keni Titus is a great songwriter walking in the steps of artists like Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift. The debut record unravels layers to her AngelPink persona, leaving the listener with hope for the future and an appreciation for the heartbreak. 

Listen to AngelPink below: