Goodbye BRAT Summer, Hello EUSEXUA Winter -

By Tim McGuire

FKA twigs has been a force to reckon with in the alternative pop scene for the last few years. Whether it be her deep intimacy or her ability to create a groove, it’s safe to say that she is one to look out for when she drops. In an interview with Vogue Magazine, twigs paints the scene of her inspiration for Eusexua: “You go inside this big warehouse and everyone is dancing. Everyone looks so good, but they’re not there to pull a look, they’re just there to dance. They’re just like angels, every single person’s just an angel.” With this inspiration, along with the themes of the album, people have been quick to compare this to Charli XCX’s most recent project BRAT. While there are certainly similarities, twigs has always been known for her undeniable individuality.

The album begins with three tracks that set the stage, namely the title track “Eusexua,” “Girl Feels Good,” and “Perfect Stranger.” The former two songs are some of the tamer cuts on the album, serving as the calm before the storm that twigs will eventually bring. It also serves to pique curiosity because… what even is eusexua? Thankfully, twigs has an answer for us here: “It’s like when you’ve been kissing a lover for hours and turn into an amoeba with that person. You’re not human anymore, you’re just a feeling…” A further explanation is seemingly provided in the more upbeat “Perfect Stranger,” which recounts the night at the warehouse that inspired this album. From this we learn eusexua is a combination of ‘euphoria’ and ‘sexual,’ which are very good descriptors of the album as a whole.

The most euphoric moments come from atmospheric, layered tracks like “Striptease” and “Keep It, Hold It.” I consider these two songs to be the best of what twigs offers us as they balance the overarching themes of the album: the polar opposites of intimacy and clubbing, creating a blurred line between the two. While the comparisons to BRAT may have stemmed from this blend, twigs takes a different approach to make it a unique experience. The most ‘bratty’ song on the album is “Sticky,” which discusses twigs’ desire to be vulnerable with her lover. I don’t bring this up to compare artists, but rather to point out a trend that may start up in music as we know it. This push forward of club music mixed with deep emotions could very well be inspiring our favorite artists of the next decade.

Speaking of club music, it’s one thing to make an album inspired by club culture, and another thing to create the songs playing in those clubs. Eusexua fortunately has a trio of fun songs in “Drums of Death,” “Room Of Fools,” and “Childlike Things.” “Drums of Death” remixes twigs’ voice into a catchy tune over hard-hitting drums. “Room Of Fools” is likely to be the most accessible song here, with a natural groove and a diverse vocal performance. Think about Björk on Lady Gaga production, and you would probably get something close to this.

“Childlike Things” has stirred up controversy online for being ‘tacky’ alongside a feature from North West. Now while I personally enjoyed it, I cannot say if that level of enjoyment was ironic or not considering that I’m listening to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s daughter spread the word of the Lord in Japanese while twigs sings about having superpowers in a fantasy world, but at least it is a type of fun I can join in on. As for my actual pick for least favorite, I would have to go with “24hr Dog.” While it sonically matches the rest of the track list, it doesn’t do enough in its nearly five minutes to warrant being one of the longest songs on the album. The lyrics aren’t any help either, not adding much to the themes outside of twigs’ desire to submit in the bedroom. “Wanderlust” ends off the album, feeling like the morning after clubbing when you’re waking up in bed and the sunbeams are greeting you. Eusexua is a clear vision of twigs’ inspiration from that night. I went into the album not understanding what ‘eusexua’ could mean, but I came out the other side feeling like I was there in the warehouse with all the other angels. The words ‘club’ and ‘intimate’ would initially clash, but FKA twigs provides a beautiful look into her life as an argument to connect the two.