I’ve been a fan of FKA twigs’ music for a few years now. From her impressive vocal runs and sincere balladry on Magdalene to her more eclectic and care-free style on Caprisongs, it seems like there’s nothing the art pop and electronic veteran can’t accomplish and make artistically her own.
The same goes for twigs’ new album Eusexua. While there’s a heavier influence on dance-pop and edm this time, it’s still unmistakably a twigs record with just how spontaneous and out-there a lot of the production can get.
While there are moments that remind me of twigs’ earlier work like LP1 or M3LL155X, there’s also a greater emphasis on rhythm and throwback aesthetics from a variety of realms.
The title track opens the album beautifully, with each sequence becoming more driving and enveloping than the last. The pulsing beat as well as twigs’ stunning vocals and songwriting make this track a mesmerizing masterpiece from start to finish and the perfect opener for this record that only continues to shock and impress.
From my understanding, the term “eusexua” was fully created by twigs herself. Resembling the words “euphoria” and “sexual,” it’s also completely its own thing according to twigs. It can really have different meanings to different people, but the main points I’ve seen have been feelings of clarity, transcendence or just that feeling you get when time stands still, you’re not human anymore, you’re just a feeling.
Whatever eusexua may mean to you, this record will make you feel it. The track “Girl Feels Good” was one of those moments for me. Reminiscent of legends like Imogen Heap or Ray of Light era Madonna, twigs floats over this bubbly, intrusive beat full of infectious bass and synth work.
The track can also be seen as a subtle yet inviting feminine anthem, discussing feelings of confidence and self-worth in such a fun and matter-of-fact way. “When a girl feels good, it makes the world go ‘round.”
“Perfect Stranger” is one of the more easily accessible tracks here yet also one of the catchiest and most invigorating. The intricate melodies and quirky vocal effects never cease to excite me and the themes of this track can also be pretty relatable and vulnerable to an extent.
Whether it be for past personal reasons or just not wanting to dive into anything serious right away, this track perfectly encapsulates these feelings of meeting someone new and wanting it to stay that way for the night. A feeling I think we’ve all felt at one point or another and this song gets it just right with a non-stop groove.
“Drums of Death,” however, is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. With a piercing, vigorous drumbeat and jittery, chopped-up vocals, this banger is dead set on getting you out on the dancefloor.
The album only gets weirder from here with “Room of Fools” sounding like something straight out of Björk’s back catalog. The cascading, plucky synth-line is matched perfectly by twigs’ airy yet commanding vocal performance as the track just continues to get louder, heavier and more sporadic. An absolute blast.
We slow things down just a bit on what might be my personal favorite track on the record “Sticky.” What starts as a piano-led ballad is one of the more open and raw moments for twigs on the album along with one of her most impressive yet subtle vocal performances. This track deals in general thoughts of guilt, regret and what could be alluding to some of twigs’ more personal struggles and past relationship turmoil.
This track is also one of the more structurally-defying and dynamic-heavy as well, as the track slowly brings in more synths, reverb and staccato vocal-chops. The song’s outro gets even more insane as twigs’ soft voice spontaneously combusts into a wall of harsh electronic noise, possibly displaying her feelings of frustration and a need for love in this more clear-cut and blunt way. Stunning in every sense.
“Keep It, Hold It” brings things down again and pays homage to the seminal second half of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love—The Ninth Wave. Strung out with subdued synths, chant-like vocals and strings and a booming bridge, it’s definitely one of the more intriguing tracks and has only continued to grow on me with each listen.\
“Childlike Things” has easily been the most polarizing track on the album with its stark change of pace, bombastic production and questionable North West feature. I can see why some people are put off by this track, whether it be for its brash production and aesthetic or the confusing Japanese rapping performance by West, but the other part of me finds the track pretty charming and a needed burst of energy in the latter half of the track list.
From what I’ve heard, twigs actually started writing this track when she was 13, making the track’s themes and messaging more thoughtful and heartening. The feature by West could also make a lot of sense in this way as maybe twigs sees her as another young artist trying to make a name for herself as she did back then.
That’s at least one way you could look at it. I’m also oddly reminded of the Boney M. song “Rasputin” when listening to this, so make of that what you will!
The final three cuts on this album are some of the finest work twigs has done in her career thus far. “Striptease” is the newest single and it’s not hard to see why. From the abrasive and luscious trap drums to twigs’ angelic vocal runs, you can’t help but be completely immersed in the song’s world.
The latter half of the song only further illustrates twigs’ experimental edge and immense vocal talent, with her even sounding like Dolores O’Riordan of the Cranberries to an extent. The track also reiterates some of the record’s themes of self-expression and self-discovery in such a creative and nuanced way.
“24hr Dog” may be the most soft and somber track here, yet that doesn’t mean it packs any less of a punch. The quaint, ever-evolving synth-pattern sounds straight out of an early Valve game with twigs sounding as raw and vulnerable as ever. As the track progresses so does twigs’ submissive tone and persistent feelings of obedience and obsession toward her partner. Whether the situation reads as healthy or not truly depends on the listener.
“Wanderlust” ends the record on a blunt yet immaculate note. The track’s verses make it hard not to think of Charli xcx, with twigs’ talk-singing while drenched in autotune and discussing themes of fame, self-esteem and her own identity. She really saved some of her best vocal runs for last as well, as she nearly moved me to tears the first time I heard this cautiously optimistic closer.\
I only continue to be shocked and utterly dumbfounded by the record. Over 10 years into her career at this point and FKA twigs is still progressively getting better, more experimental and more ahead-of-the-curve. While I can’t say this record will reach everyone, I highly recommend anyone to check it out if you’re at all into the alt-pop scene right now. I promise this album will only further reward, impress and help you experience your own “eusexua.”
My rating: 9.9/10
