I normally wouldn’t write a review for just one single, but I got Rachel Gagliardi’s name and the title of Pouty’s last album wrong in my review of Forgot About Me. So I figured I owed her.

But if I am being honest, that’s really just an excuse to spend time with Pouty’s latest single, “My Own Beauty.”

If you have four minutes, I recommend doing the same.

This song has many of the qualities I loved on Forgot About Me. The fuzzy guitars are still here. So are the massive hooks and that unmistakable 90s alternative rock DNA. But instead of charging forward like a grungy anthem, “My Own Beauty” is more patient and atmospheric, blending power pop, indie rock, and just a touch of shoegaze.

It’s all so bittersweet.

Lyrically, the song wrestles with beauty in a way that feels complicated. There are external expectations pressing in, but the danger is what happens when those voices get inside your head. The chorus rises like an anthem of self-acceptance, taking back control over how the narrator sees herself.

But it doesn’t feel like a permanent victory.

By the end, I hear someone making the conscious decision to keep rejecting someone else’s definition of beauty before it can become her own. Pouty doesn’t turn that into a one-dimensional empowerment anthem. The doubts are still there, but somehow I walk away feeling hopeful.

The drumming is fantastic, the chorus rises beautifully, and Rachel Gagliardi once again delivers a vocal performance that knows exactly when to push and when to hold back.

“My Own Beauty” is another reminder that Pouty has become the musical equivalent of appointment television for me.

The minute something new drops, I’m there.

Verdict: Masterpiece

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