Nothing since the mixtape Caprisongs in 2022. Her last studio album was the superb Magdalene in 2019. Here, at last, is Eusexua, the third studio album from FKA twigs. Successive listens on this Friday, January 24, have led to this observation: we keep discovering the contours of the album, after initially feeling that we were standing still. The first impressions were clearly not the right ones, at least as far as I’m concerned.
The pop form is ideal when you savor the interplay of coatings, superimpositions and changes of direction. Ticking all these boxes, Eusexua proves to be an inspired portrait of what we hear in high-quality electro-hybrid music, all adapted to pop forms. The mix of conventions and exploratory zones can thus nourish the whole spectrum of FKA twigs.
Now 37, FKA twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett has called on American multi-instrumentalist and producer Eartheater (Alexandra Drewchin), electro artist Koreless (Lewis Roberts), American duo Ojivolta (Mark Williams & Raul Cubina), Norwegian duo Stargate (Tor E Hermansen & Mikkel S. Eriksen) and British producer Marius de Vries, a close collaborator of Madonna’s, as are Stuart Price and Jeff Bhasker.
Not surprisingly, Madonna is the most direct influence on this album. Her little soprano voice soars over the beats, and gains in depth in certain mid-range inflections, which is also typical of Louise Marie Ciccone.
It features singer-songwriter North West on the very J-Pop Childlike This, in this case the daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
Heartbeat, trot, gallop, break beats, jungle, hot yoga, uk garage, jungle, break beats, funk, FKA twigs’ rhythms this time don’t express the deep pain of abandonment, rupture or hybrid, transmuted, mutant identity. Instead, we sense a mastery of destiny, however provisional it may be. It’s also more carnal, with the body’s disposition at its best. Melodically, it’s silky-smooth and assured from start to finish.
All in all excellent, this pop is a little less art-pop, a little less experimental, but sufficiently full of creative detail to elevate the simplicity needed for the biggest impact. An excellent weekend ahead.
