Album Review: FKA twigs — EUSEXUA

One of the best Art Pop and Electronic artists of the last ten years is without a doubt FKA twigs. From 2012 to 2015, she introduced and established herself with a set of great EPs and her debut album. The era from EP1 over her breakout record EP2 to her debut full-length LP1  already had a distinct and fully formed Art Pop sound, but things got really interesting for the first time in 2015 with her third EP M3LL155X, where twigs dove deep into Glitch- and – retrospectively, as that term didn't really exist back then – Hyperpop. A four year break followed, in which twigs went through lots of heartbreak and pain – or, without using euphemisms, sexual abuse by her ex-partner and world-famous actor Shia LeBouff. This dark time, among else, is reflected in her masterpiece, the musical statement that proved FKA twigs to be a generational artist at least to the more musically receptive bubble: 2019s MAGDALENE. The album is a heartrending, dark and haunting listen full of intensely emotional Singer-Songwriter hooks and glitchy, sometimes even Hip Hop-inspired production. Between MAGDALENE and the present, twigs went on to release her first mixtape CAPRISONGS, which showed her from a new side – not necessarily happy at all time, but somewhat liberated from past traumas, having fun on simpler and more accessible Pop songs. 

So, it's safe to say that twigs discography thus far has been flawless with not one release that disappoints from today's standpoint. The singles to her new album EUSEXUA set the album to continue exactly that trend. They are the reason EUSEXUA became my most anticipated album coming out in 2025 at the end of 2024 and they promised an album that would be sensual, dance-able and eccentric, aligning twigs' music with the zeitgeist of EDM-inspired, somewhat self-reflectively sad but also provocative Pop. Fittingly, besides comparisons to the likes of Björk, FKA twigs was also likened to Charli xcx in the past, especially on songs like In Time from 2015s M3LL155X. EUSEXUA sees her explore that side more again, which is why M3LL155X might be the most similar record from the past. In a nutshell, EUSEXUA can be interpreted as FKA twigs' prime opportunity to reach for a wider audience and make her big mark in Alternative Pop.

EUSEXUA starts with its lead-single and title track, a beautiful, slow and somber song with subtle but experimental production. It's definitely the most quintessential twigs track on the album and a good choice for an opener. The second track, Girl Feels Good, gets us into more upbeat territorium with a super hooky chorus and throwback ‘90s production eerily reminiscent of Massive Attack’s Mezzanine. It's a good pop tune but ultimately feels a little to insignificant and derivative to be considered a true standout. The opposite is the case for the third track, Perfect Stranger, which landed on #17 of my 50 Favorite Singles of 2024-list. The song encompasses many themes, but apart from being literally very deep, it also immediately sucks you in with its accessible lyrics and 2-step beat. Perfect Stranger is twigs' best more radio-friendly Pop song in her career so far. Its follow-up on EUSEXUA, Drums of Death, was also released prior to the album and, while it might be the most original, memorable and glitchy songs on the album, it doesn't quite sit right with me in a certain way. It is a worthwhile production piece, uniquely horny and another cool musical direction twigs branches out to on the album though. 
Room of Fools is the first album-track highlight to come up. It's a song where twigs fully leans into electronic beats and shows off some impressive vocal chops by, for one, hitting some vulnerable high-notes, but also by adding some intense grit to her voice in her performance of the titular line, which declares the human race to be a bunch of fools in a room as they're delusionally dancing happily, not noticing or caring for what is really going in the world. The outro section of the song is phenomenal too and although everything about this song is somewhat reminiscent of Björk, Room of Fools works perfectly as an updated, twigsian version. 
After Room of Fools, EUSEXUA slows down a bit with Sticky, a slow ballad in the style of MAGDALENE that, while not having quite the emotional impact that songs off of that album had, is very enjoyable and ends with an unexpected dark twist. twigs' multi-facetted lyrics touching on the inevitability of sticky situations are notable too. Keep It, Hold It continues the more meditative middle-section of the album with a slow Art Pop build. Pieces of the instrumentation and vocals are seemingly paying homage to Kate Bush's best era in the mid-'80s, until the song explodes into an electronic dance beat with twigs delivering a desperate-sounding, intense vocal performance on top. 

Childlike Things featuring Kanye West's and Kim Kardashian's daughter North West, who's 11 years old fittingly, is a huge break in the albums otherwise serious and contemplative atmosphere. The playful chorus of the song is as silly as it is infectious and both North West and FKA twigs are having a blast with this tune. Although I do understand how polarising the song is, I couldn't help but fall in love with it after a few listens. 

The next track, Striptease, sees twigs returning to the album's overall vibe and aesthetic with its musical centerpiece and climax. The Trap-esque chorus of the song opens up into a sensual b-section that, in the end, leads us to a truly outstanding, closing section. This could've been the perfect penultimate track, but twigs decides to really cool things down for the last two songs. 24hr Dog has her sexually submitting to a lover (‘I’m a dog for you'), but the tune itself, despite the subject matter, goes nowhere quickly and feels like somewhat of a filler song before the album closes out with the self-reflective Wanderlust. It's another one of these really Charli xcx-coded twigs moments. Not only does she sound like Charli in the first verse, some of the songwriting with its (self-)talky, very plain writing-style and delivery also gives BRAT vibes. FKA twigs does break out of that fast lyrically and vocally, sounding more like herself, but also reminding me of Caroline Polachek and, somehow, Ariana Grande. 

Wanderlust is a satisfying closing track and a stunning moment of introspection and that very effectively conceals how much of a departure it is in almost any way from the rest of EUSEXUA. I think this late into the album it doesn't matter anymore anyway because the whole track listing is somewhat all over the place stylistically and thematically. While stylistic coherence wasn't really a concern raised by the pre-released singles, thematically, the album seemed and was also communicated to audiences as a much more focused journey centered around sexual and romantic desire. That's an expectation EUSEXUA could not fulfill. Apart from expectations of coherency, there is also the problem of the more flawed pacing after Room of Fools. While I do like every track on the album and thoroughly enjoy many of them, it's undeniable that not every moment of EUSEXUA is uncompromisingly engaging or intriguing. It makes the album feel a tad inconsistent as there are some unignorably weaker spots across the album and some songs in the track listing that are noticeably less thrilling than others. A part of why might be EUSEXUA's more musically derivative approach. Stylistically, the album doesn't feel as original or bold as past twigs records like LP1, M3LL155X or MAGDALENE. And despite twigs' undeniable evolution as an artist, some fantastic individual tracks and phenomenal production, the album can't live up to these past projects in this way. I am aware that MAGDALENE obviously is a really high bar to set though – and that EUSEXUA is a very different album too. So, despite all my criticisms, EUSEXUA is an amazing Pop album filled to the brim with good tunes and stylish eccentricities; not the coherent journey I felt was promised, but a wild ride of Electronic Dance Music nonetheless. 

Track listing & Song ratings

1. EUSEXUA | 100 ★
2. Girl Feels Good | 80
3. Perfect Stranger | 100 ★
4. Drums of Death | 80
5. Room of Fools | 90
6. Sticky | 80
7. Keep It, Hold It | 80
8. Childlike Things | 80
9. Striptease | 100 ★
10. 24hr Dog | 70
11. Wanderlust | 90