FKA twigs has been many things. She’s explored lust, introspection, melancholy and joy across a discography that has seen her sound go from atmospheric to energetic to heavy to weightless. By the release of her 2022 mixtape Caprisongs, her loosest effort yet, it was safe to call her one of the most accomplished musical auteurs of her generation. Ever committed to taking her artistry forward though, with her latest effort twigs shows that she’ll create new horizons to explore if she has to. “Eusexua”, a term coined by twigs herself, refers to a euphoric state of being that can be conjured through art, music and sex. Her third album takes the concept as a title and embarks on an album-length exploration of it (notably, it is her longest release after Caprisongs).
The lead single and title track is uniquely exhilarating. twigs has always been a consummate performer whom the best production couldn’t drown out, but in “Eusexua” the thrill that is her muse is matched by the thrill of a song where she sounds born anew. The pulsating electronic production, featuring contributions by fellow electronic experimentalist Eartheater, zooms in on twigs’ delicate yet passionate performance. Lyrics like “If they ask you say you feel it, but don’t call it love” delivered in her light upper register display the freewheeling intensity of desire this album is focused on. twigs has truly never sounded so exciting.
Though no stranger to dancefloor-ready numbers, in Eusexua twigs is bringing a newfound confident joy to a sonic palette she’s never explored, creating a record with the effervescence of an artist’s debut. “Room of Fools” is a song about the ecstasy of finding connection on the dancefloor, and its bouncy joyful production is reminiscent of the early 00s sound of club music that had not yet been weighed down by the conventions of pop music. “Girl Feels Good” is an ode to the power of expressive femininity that goes even further back to the kind of warbled, tense electronic music embodied by late 90s Madonna.
The singles “Drums of Death” and “Perfect Stranger” are an interesting combo of the album’s least and most conventional offerings. The former features thumping beats and chopped processed vocals that make the song sound like it is falling apart. Paired with lyrics about taking off your clothes and surrendering to your desires, the song almost dares the listener to step into the album’s world. “Perfect Stranger”, meanwhile, might be twigs’ most straightforward venture into pop to date. Its differential, rather than experimentation, is excellence. Every second delivers energetic catchiness that one can’t resist moving to, with a climactic final chorus made to light up every dancefloor. Without letting go of her creative edge, twigs sounds the most accessible and fun she ever has.
All of this is not to say Eusexua doesn’t include any curveballs. Recalling the melancholic eroticism of LP1, “24hr Dog” is a vulnerable look into how much twigs needs the liberation she achieves through sexual submission. With an intimate sound that takes cues from Björk’s Vespertine, the song is arguably the album’s most earnest look into the all-consuming nature of desire.
Another pivot, “Childlike Things”, is the album’s shortest cut. The two-and-a-half minutes of fun, piano-heavy dance music centered around the simple hook are undeniably catchy and fun. The most unexpected element is a verse entirely in Japanese by, of all people, North West. Though not a momentum-halting feature, it does leave more questions than answers. Still, twigs can be forgiven for singing catchy nonsense when she delivers such a fun vibe. As for lyrical depth, the album’s ballads deliver vulnerability while remaining musically interesting enough to not hurt the record’s pacing.
“Sticky” is a minimal and emotional track where twigs expresses her need for self-release. It resonates emotionally thanks to the sincerity carried in the singer’s voice, while the bridge fills up the production in a way that makes the song flow perfectly with the rest of the album. The closer “Wanderlust”, meanwhile humanizes the singer through direct references to the making of this album and her venture into acting, followed by her most unfiltered vocal performance as she cries out for emotional fulfillment. It is a spell-breaking moment that trades the album’s lustful fantasy for a moment of connection with the artist, and it is a great end to a great record.
The album’s crowning achievement, however, is undoubtedly “Striptease”. Lyrically comparing the emotional and physical self-revealing that comes with intimacy, the song’s production and performance epitomize the tense lust around which this album is built. The languid, bass-heavy production of the first half allows twigs to be at her most forceful on the chorus while sensitive on the verses, keeping the song extremely dynamic. Following that, the drum and bass of the outro, accompanied by an expressive display of twigs’ vocal range, is no short of transcendental. Teased for over two years, “Striptease” fully delivers on the hype.
Eusexua is so clearly the work of a fully-realized creative that it would be a victory lap if it did not break so much new ground. FKA twigs is both an ambitious auteur and a maker of catchy tunes with endless replay value. It is impressive how uncompromising she is about both. While she has never toned herself down in a plea for mainstream pop stardom, Eusexua shows a mastery of her craft that, in a perfect world, would mean she doesn’t have to. As long-term fans are treated to a new classic that can both match and expand on the greatness of her previous work, new fans will be treated to her genius at its most accessible. Well over a decade into her career, with her third album of equally high and always unique greatness, FKA twigs is now ready for the status of an icon with a legacy.
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