Hayley Kiyoko, “Panorama.”

When Hayley Kiyoko canceled her 2020 tour because of COVID, she wasted no time charting out her next project. Instead of journeying across the country to appease her fanbase built up under debut album Expectations and EP I’m Too Sensitive for This Shit, she traveled inside her mind and body and created PANORAMA. 

The album’s 12 tracks are punctuated with glossy pop music, lyrics detailing relationships that didn’t work out, and stories about how she sees herself moving forward in her burgeoning career. Kiyoko has been making music forever. Her group The Stunners toured with Justin Bieber in 2010 and she starred in Disney Channel musical “Lemonade Mouth” in 2011. But it wasn’t until the last few years that she began making headlines with the more authentic side of her music. 

There’s no denying this is a queer album. Take the weightless and airy vocals of Carly Rae Jepsen, but instead of songs like “Boy Problems,” give them lyrics about girls, and you’ll get PANORAMA. Right from the opening track, “sugar at the bottom,” this is the case. It begins with a light trill before she begins asking questions about how her girl’s new man is treating her.

“Does he call you out/ Like I did?” she asks. “Are you still pushing everyone away/ At arm’s length?” The questions end up not mattering when she concludes, “I’m so glad you’re someone else’s problem.” She realizes there wasn’t any, and likely would never be, anything sweet when dealing with this person.

The album isn’t about a specific relationship. When the pandemic hit and forced Kiyoko to recalibrate, she looked inside herself and at the natural landscapes surrounding her in the San Fernando Valley. She fantasized about the terrain being a subject of fire and destruction, one you can only really see once the final embers have been snuffed. This analogy might be hard to make sense of, but give the album a few listens and it’ll come into view. 

Single “for the girls” is dedicated to any fem-presenting person, whether they’re queer or not. “Surround me with the girls, I love being a girl/ I’m ready for the girls/ Are you?”she sings. The energy and lyrics full of sexual, summery analogies make it a highlight of the album.

This same energy is retained through other songs, even if the subject matter isn’t as lighthearted. On “flicker start,” Kiyoko brings in heat again, this time begging for a flame to re-spark and inspire her. The Sunday sunshine burns her skin, but Kiyoko is resilient and patient. “How do I keep going if I don’t know where I’m going?” she wonders.

As glossy as the album is, Kiyoko doesn’t waste opportunities to play around. She experiments by slightly distorting her vocals on the chorus of “underground” and collaborates with Johnny Rain on “forever,” though this doesn’t turn out as fun as past collaborations like 2018’s “What I need” with Kehlani.

In the album’s second half, there’s the whimsical “deep in the woods,” where the deep and repeating beat feels saturated with longing. “It’s like you’re/ My dream, my déjà vu, a ghost,” she sings, her voice swooning. Through “supposed to be,” the longing continues and she finds herself lost in memories of perfume while realizing loving her ex is all she wants to know. In “well,” Jepsen’s effortless and bouncing pop vibe reemerges as Kiyoko succinctly makes a simple rhyme into the chorus hook. As far as she can “tell,” she’s doing “well” so thanks—whoever you are—for putting her through “hell.” 

Kiyoko’s musical growth and artistry are summarized eloquently in the title track concluding the album. She disregards the traditional song structure followed in PANORAMA’s other songs, opting for two stanzas where verse and chorus mesh into one and are followed by a short outro. Throughout the album, it’s clear Kiyoko delivered on her goal of self-reflecting, while also embracing her musical potential. It’s the most authentic we’ve seen her yet. 

Follow Domenic Strazzabosco at Twitter.com/domenicstrazz and Instagram.com/domenicstrazz.