Like quite a lot of multi-platform artists, FKA Twigs’ music may be laborious to take away from the bigger context: the movies, the style, the appears to be like, the artwork initiatives, her unbelievable dancing, and, most of all, the bigger ideas that at all times accompany her music. That’s one purpose why her 2022 mixtape “Caprisongs” was such a breath of contemporary air: Though it was 17 songs lengthy and featured collaborations with the Weeknd, Jorja Smith and others, apparently the looser format of a mixtape allowed her to discover and calm down a bit from the at-times oppressive weightiness of initiatives like her earlier album, 2019’s “Magdalene.”
Thankfully, though “Eusexua” comes with a really heavy idea and lots of the above trappings — to wit, in response to the press supplies, “Eusexua is a state of being. A sense of momentary transcendence usually evoked by artwork, music, intercourse, and unity. Eusexua may be adopted by a state of bliss and emotions of limitless risk” — it’s Twigs’ most absolutely realized undertaking so far, combining the experimentation and variety of the mixtape with a more-focused method and unquestionably essentially the most spectacular and versatile vocal performances of her profession. The truth is, it’s very stunning to study that, aside from a function from North West — sure, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s 11-year-old daughter, singing partially in Japanese, no much less, on “Childlike Issues” — and a few backing vocal spots, the entire singing on the album is her. Whereas there’s loads of her trademark breathy, ultra-high soprano, she shapeshifts her voice into all types of fascinating contortions and tones, a lot of which we haven’t heard from her earlier than.
Twigs has stated the album was impressed by the music and vibe of nightclubs in Prague she frequented over the previous couple of years. Whereas there are many percolating beats and pulsating digital basslines and textures, her description is barely deceptive as a result of the melodies and vocals are at all times on the forefront. At numerous factors on the album, you get flashes of PC Music-style glitchiness, Bjork, Kate Bush, Charli xcx and the xx, however there’s no query that the musical imaginative and prescient — and quite a lot of the instrumentation — is hers.
Her major musical foil is longtime collaborator Koreless, there are additionally contributions from Marius de Vries (Bjork), Ojivolta (Kanye West, Rose) and lots of others, though a lot of the big-name hitmakers (Jeff Bhasker, Stargate, Stuart Value) solely pop in for a track or two.
Difficult however centered, “Eusexua” cements Twigs’ standing as considered one of music’s nice innovators.
