FKA twigs Did It Again

A review of her new album EUSEXUA Afterglow, plus a few quick alt-R&B recs

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MAIN REVIEW

artist: fka twigs

album: eusexua afterglow

grade: B

FKA twigs is an artist that takes her time between projects, tours only when necessary and goes all-out anytime she arrives on the scene. On her EUSEXUA record from earlier this year, she made a sharp transition to ‘90s techno sounds and industrial aesthetics that she absolutely owned and made her own. Unlike her previous studio albums, EUSEXUA was far more danceable, loose and absent of the often tragic vulnerability that made some of her earlier work like Magdalene so compelling. But that’s not to say EUSEXUA wasn’t compelling — it just offered a brand new euphoric experience that matched twigs’ newfound confidence and fierceness.

It hasn’t even been a year and we’ve gotten yet another brand new full-length album, awkwardly called EUSEXUA Afterglow (it should just be called AFTERGLOW), alongside a re-worked version of EUSEXUA with a similarly warped cover.

Aside from “Perfectly” (which was already a great standalone single) the re-work of EUSEXUA is not really worth the effort at all. However, AFTERGLOW (I’m just gonna call it that fuck it) is nearly as good as the original EUSEXUA, boasting 11 new tracks, 8 of which are outstanding and 3 of which are pretty good.

Overall, the production and lyrical content take on a far simpler, more streamlined and catchy vibe. I could see a few of these songs really doing well with standard pop audiences, as they are far more accessible and traditionally clubby than a lot of the material on EUSEXUA. The opening track “Love Crimes” immediately gets started with a banger techno beat that barely ceases for the entire runtime, with twigs making a break up sound like a murder: “hard times call for love crimes, you might be the one but now I’m done.” This flows beautifully into “Slushy,” which is a more serene and poetic cut narrating the post breakup glow. She’s driving around acting wreckless with friends, calling someone she loves on the phone — over this subdued, trip-hop adjacent production.

“Wild and Alone” is another great track in this run, which finds twigs effortlessly dueting with PinkPantheress, another one of the most innovative pop artists of our day. It’s super danceable, really harkening back to the ‘00s techno scene, I love all the little drops and edits. “HARD” is a sultry, inneundo filled banger that wastes no time getting to work. The production is incredible, and so is this chorus: “Do it hard / If you’re gonna love me do it hard.” It’s straight forward yet experimental and exciting in a way only her and her producers could put together. “Cheap Hotel,” while a bit repetitive, has this really dubby, bassy quality to it. I love the sample, feature, or pitched down masculine vocals that give the song a more nocturnal, hip-hop feel. It really feels like pre and post gaming in a dingy hotel behind a club. “Touch A Girl” is the most translucent cut on the record, it’s reminds me of her best OG material like “Video Girl.” I love the echoed out and light synths and her sweet and dreamy vocal presence. The chorus melody also oddly reminds me of “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka in this strange, drugged out way.

“Predictable Girl” is a glitchy, scuzzy love song where twigs is lusting for this person and ruining her life by doing so: “You made up a world, then got fucked in the ass.” I like songs like this as opposed to some of the material on EUSEXUA because it just feels more unbashedly her and less like Ray of Light-era Madonna, or Bjork, or Eartheater. It’s like more catchy pop but on her weird terms. “Sushi” takes a little while to get in the full swing at 5 minutes long, but the build-up is worth the incredible switch-up. She’s fantasizing about going on dates with a new person, showing them the good life and living an stress-free life. The production switch halfway through is outstanding and not something I expected — going from alt-R&B to dark trap to full to a full on late ‘80s ballroom drop. “Lost All My Friends,” by comparison, is like a taking too much ketamine at Basement or [insert local techno club here] since many of y’all are not living in NY. The focus is more on the ghostly, echoed out production than twigs, who’s almost in this confused haze. “Lost all my friends in the club / Then I lost my mind in the club” been there before girl. I enjoy this song, although it is a little light on writing and repetitive to an extent.

The two songs I don’t love are “Piece of Me” and “Stereoboy.” The former just doesn’t really do much that the other cuts on the album didn’t do, aside from some cool SOPHIE-esque high pitched vocal edits. And “Stereoboy” has a really great beat, but it kind of just sounds like one of the lesser tracks of Eartheater’s Trinity mixtape. It’s repetitive and doesn’t amount to too much, especially compared to the highly emotional and freeing “Wanderlust” off EUSEXUA. Neither of these songs are bad per say, but they definitely don’t compare to the near-flawless run of eight unique cuts in a row that kick the record off and go full speed.

I am happy to see twigs give us even more strong material in this ‘90s/’00s industrial techno era. Seeing as though she’ll probably retreat back to her regular life after she’s fully done touring this cycle, it’s good to get as much as we can from her. I found a lot of the material on AFTERGLOW to be extremely high quality. It doesn’t quite stack up to EUSEXUA in concept, effort and vocal presence especially — but it certainly feels like it’s own project, not an afterthought.

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OTHER RECS (IF YOU LIKE AFTERGLOW)

artist: keiyaa

album: hooke’s law

artist: amaarae

album: black star

artist: rochelle jordan

album: through the wall

artist: dexter in the newsagent

album: time flies