Hayley Kiyoko has had a meandering journey to her second album. Starting out in 2007 as part of the pop-R&B group the Stunners, who supported Justin Bieber on his debut tour in 2010, she went on to star in a series of teen TV movies, crowdfund a solo EP in 2013 and eventually release her debut album, Expectations, in 2018. Establishing her as one of the few openly queer female artists in pop, Expectations had the air of a landmark release, playfully referencing Kiyoko’s sexuality on the earworming, club-ready Kehlani feature What I Need, and finding fiery indignation in He’ll Never Love You (HNLY).
After four years away, Kiyoko’s return with Panorama is altogether flatter. While the single For the Girls riffs on the same, bass-forward energy of What I Need, its endless refrain makes it blandly repetitive, despite running at under three minutes. The record’s 12 other tracks manage an equally thin, synthetic production style: Kiyoko singsongs over a minimal beat on Flicker Start; Luna trades off monotonous vowel sounds; and Sugar at the Bottom dissipates into a predictable hook.
Where Expectations saw Kiyoko taking space to explore her own voice, Panorama feels like a leap backwards, trading personality for affectless tracks that fade into the background.
