Los Angeles —“I love another and thus I hate myself” and everything stops. The repetition of that one moving line rips the listener out of reality and into FKA Twigs debut album, LP1. The gothic harmonies and heart pounding beats on “Preface” are the beginning of a piece of art too mesmerizing to be anything but fully and emotionally invested in.
LP1’s brilliance isn’t overt — it whispers seduction and tantalizes like a feather gliding over the skin. Each synth and word that emanates is purposeful in the singer, songwriter, and producer’s efforts to explore her sexuality, layered with plaguing heartache, feelings of abandonment, self-doubt, and an obsessive yearning for a reliable love. Listeners will no doubt find themselves in a 41-minute intense relationship with this woman without escape.
Professional dancers are notorious for their perfectionism, so it is no surprise that this former background dancer waited over two years to release her first LP to achieve a 10-track album that is all consuming. After two acclaimed EP releases, Twigs finally unveils her fully realized vision that manages to make complex arrangements graceful. The control she commands is strange and dazzling at the same time and likely could not have been achieved without the help of production greats Dev Hynes, Emile Haynie, and Clams Casino. Still, it is Twigs who pushes her audience to the floor with a flick of the finger.
This is hyper-styled R&B reborn. “Lights On” has cracks, snaps, ricochets, clicks, thumps, and so many more indescribable sounds. It’s weird. It’s wonderfully weird and X-rated. Her voice has high-pitched orgasmic moments that are as high as Mariah Carey and matched with world conquering synths.
LP1 is the kind of album that should be listened to from beginning to end, but of all the tracks, “Two Weeks” is one that must be heard. It is dumbfounding on it’s own. There are so many layers, so much emotion drenched in each note that visions blur like when the eyes start to water with tears. This is the song that lingers and jolts any knowledge of any music before Twigs.
“Video Girl” and “Numbers” are no songs to scoff at either. While the theme of infidelity has been explored tirelessly, especially in R&B, it is a story told in an entirely new way. Twigs respects the power of melodies and only speaks when necessary. “Was I just a number to you?” is all she needs to ask for the sharp noises to cut as swiftly as a razor’s edge.
Each song builds and drops like a symphony so there are high hopes for the booming performance to end with an even more extravagant climax, but it never comes. “Closer” is no grand finale. “Closer” is actually very much reminiscent of “Preface,” at least tying the tracks up nicely in a bow with keys added to choir-like hymns.
All of the elements of the record come together flawlessly, but this music will never find its way to the mainstream. It is too intricate to be dance music and it is too involving to listen to while doing just about anything else. This singer commands the center stage. LP1 is high, low, fast, slow, inventive, haunting and so much more. There is really nothing to do except close the bedroom door, fall into bed, and breathe in every high and every low.
FKA Twigs has filled a void in the music industry before anyone knew there was a void to be filled.
LP1 is available August 12th. Visit ITunes to list
Ariela Kozin
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