Like a lot of multi-platform artists, FKA Twigs’ music can be hard to remove from the larger context: the videos, the fashion, the looks, the art projects, her incredible dancing, and, most of all, the larger concepts that always accompany her music. That’s one reason why her 2022 mixtape “Caprisongs” was such a breath of fresh air: Although it was 17 songs long and featured collaborations with the Weeknd, Jorja Smith and others, apparently the looser format of a mixtape allowed her to explore and relax a bit from the at-times oppressive weightiness of projects like her previous album, 2019’s “Magdalene.”
Fortunately, although “Eusexua” comes with a very heavy concept and many of the above trappings — to wit, according to the press materials, “Eusexua is a state of being. A feeling of momentary transcendence often evoked by art, music, sex, and unity. Eusexua can be followed by a state of bliss and feelings of limitless possibility” — it’s Twigs’ most fully realized project to date, combining the experimentation and diversity of the mixtape with a more-focused approach and unquestionably the most impressive and versatile vocal performances of her career. In fact, it’s very surprising to learn that, with the exception of a feature from North West — yes, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s 11-year-old daughter, singing partially in Japanese, no less, on “Childlike Things” — and a couple of backing vocal spots, all of the singing on the album is her. While there’s plenty of her trademark breathy, ultra-high soprano, she shapeshifts her voice into all kinds of fascinating contortions and tones, many of which we haven’t heard from her before.
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Twigs has said the album was inspired by the music and vibe of nightclubs in Prague she frequented over the past couple of years. While there are lots of percolating beats and pulsating electronic basslines and textures, her description is slightly misleading because the melodies and vocals are always at the forefront. At various points on the album, you get flashes of PC Music-style glitchiness, Bjork, Kate Bush, Charli xcx and the xx, but there’s no question that the musical vision — and a lot of the instrumentation — is hers.
Her primary musical foil is longtime collaborator Koreless, there are also contributions from Marius de Vries (Bjork), Ojivolta (Kanye West, Rose) and many others, although most of the big-name hitmakers (Jeff Bhasker, Stargate, Stuart Price) only pop in for a song or two.
Challenging but focused, “Eusexua” cements Twigs’ status as one of music’s great innovators.