Biig Piig – ‘11:11’ album review: an innocent journey through late-night euphoria
THE SKINNY: Does a Brat autumn immediately follow a Brat Summer? If so, I think we’ve found the soundtrack. Bursting with the same hedonistic energy but exercised in the darker shadows of a warehouse rave, this is an album for the introspective chapters that intertwine a night out. An eight-hour odyssey of every weekend where laughing, crying and dancing jostle for attention and vitality of every emotion is bursting through the seams, this record tries to make sense of it through the quietly assured voice of Biig Piig.
Weaving through the cracks of a night out is a creatively safe space for an artist to pursue, especially when they have a penchant for mid-tempo disco hits like Biig Piig. But perhaps the times it’s been done most interestingly are when the feelings of euphoria we come to expect in those environments are blended with melancholy.
But cutting through both emotions is Biig Piig’s voice, which is easily the most interesting sonic aspect of the album. Whether it’s on the tik-tok-ready bedroom-pop background of ‘Stay Home’ or the album’s standout track, the garage-infused ‘Decimal,’ her vocal takes have an uncanny ability to establish assurance despite their hushed effect.
There’s a careful attempt to draw the fluctuating line of a night out, be it the rapture of the dancefloor on ‘Favourite Girl’, the lustful longing of ‘Silhouette’ or the tear-filled bathroom of ‘Ponytail’, there’s a sonic attempt to throw all of life’s vitality at the wall and see what colours they leave in their imprint. Compositionally, it’s an effort well achieved, with every crevice of a nightclub is represented. But lyrically, the record falls short somewhat, as talk of ‘lipstick on bottles’ and being ‘drunk on our love’ feels a little bit too cliche.
While the more alt-pop b-side of the record boldly displays tenderness, Biig Piig is undoubtedly at her most artistically curious amidst the chaos. Her experimental vocal melodies give space to a sonic landscape where anything is possible, and the irreverent becomes coherent, all marching to the steady beat of natural movement. It’s an exciting club record softened by the bedroom pop that slows down the intriguing feeling of sonic experimentation.
For fans of: Crying in the club, holding hands with your friends on the dancefloor and blissfully reminiscing over it with a few warm cans at 4am.
A concluding comment from Charli XCX fans: “If you keep dancing like you did during Decimal you can come to our afters”.
11:11 track by track
Release date: February 7th | Producer: Andrew Wells, Zachary Nahome & Zach Nahome | Label: Ponytail via RCA Records
‘4AM‘: Biig Piig’s hushed vocals take you by the hand and walk you through the club vortex. It’s a track waiting to burst at the seams with euphoric noise but cleverly pares back the chorus to much more intrigue. [3.5/5]
‘Ponytail’: A self-professed “sad banger” it’s ready-made to drown out the dancefloor sobs with its sub-bass. It’s an interesting lead single sonically crying out for a different vocal hook. [3/5]
‘Cynical‘: A tale of two halves: the verses show Biig Piig’s melodies at their most intriguing, bringing in the intricate noises of everyday life to provide texture before dropping into a chorus that you’re begging to celebrate a deeper sense of rhythm. [2.5/5]
‘Favourite Girl’: While the rhythm section plays like a catwalk strut, it feels appropriate that the vocals celebrate the idea of a ‘favourite girl’. Boasting the record’s catchiest chorus, it’s a shining example of a mid-tempo disco-pop banger that showcases her vocal versatility. [3.5/5]
‘Keep Losing Sleep’: An appropriate interlude that marks the middle section of any good night out. Staring in the cracked mirror at your own distorted face, you ask yourself, where next? [3.5/5]
‘9-5′: Sounding like Sabrina Carpenter has slipped on a pair of Salomon’s and gone on a night out in Dalston, this song turns bubblegum pop into an adult sherbet dib dab. Again, Biig Piig boasts her ability to craft exciting vocal melodies but layers it on a slightly underwhelming tonal palette that doesn’t do the vocal justice. [3/5]
‘Decimal’: The record’s standout track is where the night out peaks. Flirting between Spanish and English, the vocals flutter like a kaleidoscopic butterfly over a rousing dance track. The use of arpeggio gives it an underlying sense of menace that elevates Biig Piig from an innocent alt-pop star to a rave icon. [4/5]
‘Silhouette’: This poppy mood shift that would have been more appropriate before ‘9-5’ earmarks the beginning of 11:11’s winding down, dragging you home in an untimely fashion like your boring friend. An interesting pop take in its own right, just ill-placed in the tracklisting. [3/5]
‘Stay Home’: While it may be a good thing in modern music, in context to the rest of the album, it’s not right that this song feels purpose-built for a glossy TikTok reel. If the album is a night out, this is an overly romanticised taxi ride home where the view of the cityscape has never looked so good. [2/5]
‘One Way Ticket’: Much like the track before, the plucky guitar melody laid beneath lines about a ‘one way ticket’ feels overly glossy compared to the rest of the album. The vocal intricacy Biig Piig shows in the middle sections of the record feels like a fleeting memory at this point, and you can’t help but wish they were back. [2/5]
‘Brighter Day’: The curtains have been drawn open, and yesterday’s debauchery is but a hazy memory at this point. The autotune vocals re-introduce a sense of innocence and give back space to the angel on one of Biig Piig’s shoulders, who felt silenced for the opening part of the record. [2.5/5]
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