Pitchfork, one of the world’s top music publications, recently gave a glowing review to “PILLZCASSO,” the debut studio album by Vietnamese producer 2pillz.
Scoring 7.1, a notable achievement given Pitchfork’s strict standards, the album joins the rare group of Asian works prominently featured on the site.
Strongest V-pop release of the year
Music critic Joshua Minsoo Kim called it “a breezy and confident collection of dance pop” featuring many local artists, capturing an hour of beach-ready party tracks with mellow comedowns.
While generally relaxed in tone, he noted that “PILLZCASSO” is “the most robust statement” in Vietnamese pop this year.
Fusion of folk sounds, Vinahouse, and ballads
Pitchfork was particularly impressed with how 2pillz incorporated Vietnamese folk sounds into modern production, from the bamboo xylophone in “Dua Em Vao Trong” (Lead You to the Trap) to the ancient lithophone in “Thac Ning” (Ning Waterfall).
As well as the resonant Vietnamese flutes in tracks like “Ngui Dep Oiii” (Hey, Beauty), “Chi Mot Cau Than Chu” (A Magic Spell), and “Nghi Mot Ti” (Think a While).
The review also praised his blending of pop with Vinahouse, a Vietnamese electronic style, in “Mot Khi Noi Tieng Yeu Moi Chuyen Cham Het” (Once You Say I Love You, It’s All Over) and his creative rework of Bolero using a sample from legendary singer Phuong Dung in “La Mua Thu Roi Mang Tinh Yeu Toi” (Falling Autumn Leaves Bring Love).
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Star-studded collaborations
Released on July 8, “PILLZCASSO” includes 14 tracks and collaborations with artists such as Van Mai Huong, Phuong Dung, MONO, tlinh, GREY D, GDucky, Orange, Vu Phung Tien, and WOKEUP.
It reached number one on iTunes in Vietnam and Germany and top three in Canada.
Its 53-minute full album performance video on YouTube has garnered over 463,000 views.
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