Album Review: Million Dollar Baby - Pixey

Off the back of her Glastonbury performance, Liverpool indie-pop sweetheart Pixey has released her debut album Million Dollar Baby. Pixey has been releasing music since 2019, with her discography already consisting of four EPs: Colours (2019), Free to Live in Colour (2021), Sunshine State (2021), and Dreams, Pains & Paper Planes (2022).

Million Dollar Baby has been gently teased since the start of the year with the first of the singles "The Thrill Of It" being released way back in January. The album was announced alongside the release of the title track "Million Dollar Baby" in April with the last two singles "Bring Back the Beat", and "Give A Little of your Love" being released in June and July respectively.

Tracklist
1. Man Power
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. The Thrill Of It
4. Best Friend
5. Damage
6. Give A Little of Your Love
7. Love Like Heaven
8. Bring Back the Beat
9. Oxygen
10. The War in My Mind

The album exists almost as a personal project of self-discovery, and shows not only the diversity of Pixey’s talent, but the genuinity of her songwriting. The tracks touch on a variety of themes: thoughts and emotions surrounding relationships, the importance of female friendships, and the experience of being a young woman in the music industry.

Perhaps one of Pixey’s most impressive qualities is her ability as a producer, This album was self-produced alongside Rich Turvey and Tom McFarland between her home based studio and London. Her tracks are a mix of psychedelic rock, '90s breakbeat, and modern indie pop, looking to artists such as Primal Scream and Underworld as inspirations. She adds a little Pixey dust to all the tracks with little ornamentations in the production. 

The album really has something for everyone: psychedelic inspired tracks like “Damage” and on the heavier side “Man Power”; intimately sweet tracks like “Best Friend” and “Love Like Heaven”; absolute anthemic bangers like “Million Dollar Baby”, “The Thrill of It”, and “Bring Back the Beat”; and raw yet deceivably danceable tracks like “Oxygen”.

My favourite track is “Best Friend” which is an incredibly sweet ode to female friendships. Layered with harps and strings, Pixey creates a hazy dreamy atmosphere straight from a movie that quite frankly almost made me cry. 

Top Tracks

As someone who liked an odd song here and there, this album has absolutely flipped my perspective on Pixey as an artist and quite honestly I feel somewhat foolish for overlooking her in the first place, my apologies.

I cannot recommend this album enough, go and have a listen for yourself! 

Kat xx