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

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

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

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Jamie xx – “In Waves” review

Jamie xx is a 35 year old musician, DJ, producer & remixer from London, England, United Kingdom notable for being 1/3 of The xx or producing the title track off Drake’s best full-length album Take Care. He even put out a critically acclaimed solo debut In Colour during the summer of 2015 shortly after I graduated high school prominently based around UK bass with elements of future garage, deep house, downtempo & alt-pop included additionally. However, he’s FINALLY returning for a sophomore effort.

“Wanna” is this calming instrumental opener that rightfully sets the tone whereas the 2nd single “Treat Each Other Right” pulls from future garage, UK bass, progressive breaks & chipmunk soul talking about how that’s all we gotta do. “Waited All Night” by Oliver Sim & Romy maintains the future garage & progressive breaks elements throwing a hint of alternative R&B in the mix prior to “Baddy in the Floor” featuring additional vocals provided by Honey Dijon dabbles with garage house, funky house, speed garage & French house telling the baddies to let loose on the dance floor.

The fusion of future garage, UK bass, alternative R&B, neo-psychedelia, Atlanta bass & deconstructed club on “Dafodil” only remembering the lovely sweetness in the air after being with a beautiful female in London for the night while “Still Summer” serves as another instrumental piece for you to play during the final moments of summer itself. “Life” by Robyn borrows from funky house, Latin house, dance-pop & ballroom singing about her man making her feel alive just before “The Feeling I Get From You” lives up to it’s name by incorporating a warmer atmosphere.

“Breather” starts the final leg of In Waves with this epic 6 & a half minute kinda giving off a progressive house vibe while “All You Children” produced with The Avalanches celebrates the joy of community, connection & the transformative power of dance through tech house, melodic house & melodic techno. After the “Every Single Weekend” interlude, “Falling Together” featuring Oona Doherty on spoken word ends with what’s actually the song “Pale Blue Dancer” teased at Coachella almost 2 & a half years ago.

The deluxe run begins with Erykah Badu getting on the house-driven “F.U.” talking about being in the club calling for all the laddies & the brothers to get wild while the repetitive “It’s So Good” was a loose from last January fusing UK funky, funk brasileiro & IDM. “Do Something” dabbles with New Orleans bounce a bit while “Let’s Do It Again” crosses over in favor of progressive house, funky house, future garage & melodic house. “Kill Dem” ends the collection of bonus tracks returning to a UK funky sound 1 more time removing the funk brasileiro & IDM undertones in favor of ragga & stutter house

Almost a decade after his debut solo masterpiece, we get a melancholy paradise of bliss alongside heartbreak & introspection that eclipsed the heights of its predecessor somehow making all supernatural adjectives & analogies seem understated. He replicates the emotional crescendos & thrilling volatility of an almost mystical night out telling the story of a journey where you merge into the divine pulse of shadows, light & dance floor rhythms or a strobe light epiphany about the illimitable possibilities & spiritual capacities of humanity.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Kamasi Washington – “Fearless Movement” review

Los Angeles, California tenor saxophonist Kamasi Washington has returned for his 5th full-length LP & his 2nd with Young Recordings. Becoming a fan during my senior year of high school after signing to Brainfeeder Records, his 3rd album albeit his only one with the label The Epic went down as the best jazz record of the century so far proving the genre isn’t dead after all by embarking on an aptly titled 3 hour spiritual jazz experience. Kamasi’s last album Heaven & Earth was also 3 hours in length, expanding on the spiritual sounds from last time including the additional influences of jazz fusion or soul jazz & post-bop too. However after a 6-year gap, he’s making a comeback on Fearless Movement.

“Lesanu” begins with a 9 & a half minute spiritual jazz opener with horns, pianos & saxophones whereas “Asha the First” by Ras & Taj Austin of the group Coast Contraaccompanied by Thundercat on the hook fuses soul jazz & jazz rap together talking about light shining from the tree along with reassuring everyone their higher selves emitting & that nobody can run from impending doom. “Computer Love” performed by Patrice Quinn covers one of Zapp’s biggest hits & I understand given the rise in technology we’ve seen in recent memory, but then “The Visionary“ serves as a colorful 70 second instrumental breather with additional production from Terrace Martin.

D Smoke & Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton link up on “Get Lit” fusing jazz rap with jazz-funk & psychedelic soul referring to themselves as children of the light in the nighttime on top of a flame not losing any light by lighting another just before “Dream State” co-produced with André 3000 gets back to the spiritual jazz fusion bag additional pulling inspiration from nu jazz, ambient music & post-minimalism. “Together” by BJ the Chicago Kid brings back the soulfully jazzy vibes from earlier singing about ruing the days his lover would gain if they didn’t break up just before the progressive lead single “The Garden Path”crosses over jazz fusion & soul jazz in a technical fashion.

“Road to Self (K.O.)” begins the last leg of Fearless Movement in the form of a 13 & a half minute electric jazz roller coaster ride that makes you feel like you’ve taken shrooms or a tab of acid moments prior while “Interstellar Peace (The Last Stance)” seems like the perfect fit to have playing in the background of the beginning of a sci-fi movie, particularly during the opening credits sequence. “Lines in the Sand” nears the LP’s conclusion with another astral/soul jazz hybrid referring to the sand-lines keeping everyone so far from the dream & that they can’t tell them what to thing that is until “Prologue” perfectly rounds everything out incorporating nu jazz & jazzstep undertones into this 1 final spiritual jazz/jazz fusion composition full of passionate, improvisational energy.

Heaven & Earth further exemplified that jazz music is very much alive with it’s larger-than-lift compositions full of celestial grandeur & his distinct blend of jazz, Latin, funk, classical, hip hop & soul breaking ground for the genre’s present like The Epic. Fearless Movement offers something different with it’s terrestrial rhythms & collaborations from MCs, musical icons & even Kamasi Washington’s own daughter culminating in surpassing both DOMi & JD Beck’s debut Not Tight and even André 3000’s solo debut New Blue Sun as the best jazz album of this decade as of me writing this. You still get the predominant spiritual jazz fusion that Kamasi is known with additional elements of soul jazz, jazz rap, nu jazz, psychedelic soul jazz & jazzstep.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!