Peppermint Heaven – ‘The Very Best of Peppermint Heaven’ [Album Review]

Los Angeles-based duo Peppermint Heaven has released their compilation album, The Very Best of Peppermint Heaven, chronicling the pair’s retro synthpop sound.

Peppermint Heaven shares, “We feel that this album captures the essence of Peppermint Heaven. It’s a fine encapsulation of the journey we’ve been on for the past 10 years. Don’t worry though – the very best is yet to come!”

Made up of Juno (vocals, keyboards) and Spark (vocals, bass, drums), Peppermint Heaven burst onto the scene with their debut single, “Plenty of Time,” which hit the Top 10 of Music Week Club’s Charts. In 2016, their debut album, Precious Things, appeared, followed by a raft of singles and then 2021’s self-titled album.

A pair of EPs – Rocktropolis, with its ’70s rock flavors, and Poptropolis, distinguished by ’80s synthpop – appeared in 2022. Sixteen million Spotify streams later, Peppermint Heaven’s lush, shimmering music continues to make its mark on listeners.

High points on the 14-track album include the opener, “I Can Be Your Star,” a gleaming pop song with smooth, dreamy vocals that imbue the lyrics with quixotic longing. A personal favorite because of its new wave feel blended with hints of disco, “Christmas Day” glows with radiant coloration and creamy vocals.

“1-2-3” travels on heavier, darker synths, dripping with touches of psychedelic textures, while a light, piercing guitar adds tight, penetrating hues. Highlighted by a galloping-lite rhythm, the motion of the melody is mesmerizing.

The slower, more laid-back sensation of “Real Religion” features elegant jazz savors merged with gliding dance momentum. Whereas “Foreign Feeling” offers tints of sophisti-pop interlaced with a pulsating rhythm and daydream-suffused vocals.

Reveaux’s Remix of “Monday Morning” channels an industrial-dance rhythm topped by deep, moaning synths as sighing, ghostly vocals imbue the lyrics with the imminent feeling of mystification.

The final track, “Disco Lights,” thrums with dazzling dance energy, graceful and buoyant. Falsetto harmonies give the song yummy, thrill-ride surfaces, pulling listeners into a fantasy world of movement and swirling excitement.

Pulling freely from retro house, disco, and synthpop, with their compilation album, Peppermint Heaven rejoices in the power of dance music.

Peppermint Heaven in 2023, photo by Thai Thai

The Very Best of Peppermint Heaven Track Listing:

1. I Can Be Your Star
2. Christmas Day
3. Nothing’s Gonna Change Your Mind
4. Find the Light Inside
5. New York City Nights
6. 1-2-3
7. Real Religion
8. Stranger Than Fiction
9. Plenty of Time
10. Foreign Feeling
11. Super Reaction
12. You
13. Monday Morning
14. Disco Lights

Run Time: 55:58
Release Date: April 5, 2024
Record Label: Megahit Records