Tag: FKA twigs

FKA twigs – “Eusexua 2: Afterglow” review

Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter & dancer FKA twigs releasing a sequel to Eusexua with her 4th album. Notable in the art pop scene for her XL Recordings subsidiary Young Recordings debut EP2 after her eponymous debut EP along with her full-length debut LP1 & her 3rd EP M3LL155X. Her sophomore effort Magdalene was also acclaimed with many saying it’s better than LP1 & the same goes with her Atlantic Records-backed debut mixtape Caprisongs, releasing Eusexua at the beginning of 2025 & has followed it up almost 10 months later with Afterglow.

“Love Crimes” makes for a post-dubstep intro singing about the best time being the hardest ones to let go & advising her lover to take things slow whereas “Slushy” blends alternative R&B & glitch pop so she can create some harmony by painting her own utopia with her mind. “Wild & Alone” featuring PinkPantheress finds the 2 joining forces over a UK garage be at to sing about loving a celebrity who constantly has the feeling of isolation leading into ”Hard” pulling inspiration from Janet Jackson a little describing the way she wants to be loved.

Trip hop, illbient, alternative r&b, future garage, chopped & screwed, ambient dub and eccojams all collide on the final single “Cheap Hotel” yearning for her & her romantic interest to go all night with each other sexually at a spot behind the club just before “Touch a Girl” shifts more towards an alternative R&B vibe singing about a clever man leaving her spinning although he’s not good with women. The lead single “Predictable Girl” comes across as an internal monologue blending UK bass, 2-step, glitch pop deconstructed club, future garage & industrial techno while “Sushi” starts the 2nd half singing about wanting to take this guy out.

“Piece of Mine” starts the final moments of Eusexua 2: Afterglow balancing glitch pop & alternative R&B advising the man she’s with to relax his mind because he’s a part of her while “Lost All My Friends” could be my least favorite track here due to be heavily repetitive songwriting despite the EDM approach instrumentally. “Stereo Boy” finishes twigs’ 2nd full-length of 2025 singing about hearing the static within the titular character’s heart, allowing him to drive herself off the edge if she can land in his oils although her pain has remained even after she changed the station.

Maintaining than continuing the primary electronic dance music influences of it’s predecessor & swapping out the art pop elements in favor of alternative R&B, what was originally set to be an expansion of Eusexua has become a spiritual successor that’s more experimental than it’s counterpart. The production additionally exploring sounds of UK garage, post-dubstep, glitch pop, UK bass & deconstructed club expands on the feelings that come after experiencing Eusexua & transmuting them into a soundtrack for the hours after the rave tackling themes of freedom alongside pleasure & maximizing every moment to the fullest.

Score: 4.5/5

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FKA twigs – “Eusexua” review

FKA twigs is a 37 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom notable in the art pop scene for her XL Recordings subsidiary Young Recordings debut EP2 after her eponymous debut EP along with her full-length debut LP1 & her 3rd EP M3LL155X. Her sophomore effort Magdalene was also acclaimed with many saying it’s better than LP1 & the same goes with her Atlantic Records-backed debut mixtape Caprisongs, heading into Eusexua maintaining the classic caliber of both it’s predecessors.

The title track produced by Koreless brings together trance, art pop, progressive trance, melodic techno, ambient techno & minimal techno describing a feeling of momentary transcendence whereas “Girl Feels Good” desires men to listen to the passion of women unashamedly displaying the power women hold. “Perfect Stranger” works in elements of 2-Step, dance-pop, Euro house, alt-pop & future garage content with living with some mystery while “Drums of Death” with deconstructed club, UK bass, glitch pop, IDM, alternative R&B & glitch sings about you being her main character in your life.

“Room of Fools” sees her tempt the idea of love against this room of fools dances without a care of the real ongoings of the world while “Sticky” finds herself in the aptly titled kind of situations over & over again in attempts to express herself sexually since deep down she knows it’s a punishing cycle, but yet she can’t let go. “Keep It, Hold It” admits to feeling like wanting to turn the other way sometimes asking what she has to do & so just before the Jeff Bhasker co-produced “Childlike Things” featuring one of my top 10 producers Kanye West’s eldest daughter North West both going where the wild things are & North performing in Japanese better than she did “Bomb” off Vultures 2.

Meanwhile on “Striptease”, we have FKA twigs reaching the encore of Eusexua by singing on top of this angelic trap beat that Dog Show Records founder Dylan Brady of the hyperpop duo 100 gecs helped put together additionally while “24hr Dog” feels herself becoming a so-called full time ‘slave’ for her partner resolving herself as to being a domesticated ‘dog’ for them in addition to their demands & wishes. “Wanderlust” ends the album telling her love to find her even if she is ‘lost’ in the immaterial lusting for the endless voyage that both life & death have to offer.

“The 11” starts the deluxe run describing a method she developed by encouraging conscious action on repeat for the mind & body via spoken word while the vocal trance, dance-pop, hard techno, progressive house, progressive trance, UK hard house & peak time techno single “Perfectly” sings about times things were messy for her yet doing it so well. “The Dare” seems like a cross between Madonna’s late 90s output & Dido knocking at this guy’s door daring him to forgive her & after “Gotta Feel” sings of her desires to be bathed in forgiveness & trust, the final bonus track “Lonely But Exciting Road” opens up regarding her belief of heaven possibly coming her way.

Inspired by a night in the summer of 2022 where FKA twigs found her way outside the city to a warehouse rave where hundreds of strangers were dancing to loud immersive techno, her first album in 6 years is more a love letter to dance music’s emancipating powers due to her channeling through the auteur’s heady, haunting signature style. The production shows influences of electronic dance music, art pop, trance music, dance-pop, alternative R&B, downtempo, deconstructed club, UK bass, glitch pop, IDM, glitch music, 2-Step, Euro house, alt-pop & future garage, progressive trance music, melodic techno, ambient techno & minimal techno providing greater understanding to the term she created herself defined as a state of being.

Score: 4.5/5

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