New York Magazine - USA (2019-11-25)

thesensethatprivacyisn’t reallypossi-

bleanymore—spawneda videoinwhich

Twigsperformsa breathtaking,contor-

tionist pole-danceroutine,ascendstothe

sky, andcomescrashingbacktoEarthlike

Icarus.Shealsoundertookrigoroustrain-

inginChinesemartialartsforthesword

fightinanupcomingclipfor“SadDay.”

Thisattentiontoforminhervideosmir-

rorsthatinhermusic.Twigsproductions

areintricateandbeautifulbutalsohard,

likecastles.Shemovesthroughtheirhalls

withregalgrace,pridefuleccentricity, and

forthrightsensuality.

Thealbum’s best songsbridge these

moods.“HomeWithYou”is a pianobal-

ladpunctuatedintermittentlybyjarring

industrial soundthat,inthelast cho-

rus,risesona groundswellofstringsand

woodwindinstruments.(ImagineSophie

crash-landinginthemiddleofLanaDel

Rey ’s NormanFucking Rockwell! for

ef fect.)“MaryMagdalene”is a statelysiren

songthatbubblesupthroughaneddying

seaofnoise.It ’s high-conceptelectronic

musicthat’s nevertooheadytodanceto

ortoosterntobefun.“Daybed”is a song

aboutmasturbatingtopassthetimein

a depressiverut.Andin“HolyTerrain,”

TwigstradesverseswithFuture,very nearly

upstagingtrap’ssad,horny kingat hisown

game:“I’mbluewhenthemoonhitsmy

skinright/ Hotpinkwhenyouopenup

mysweet thighs.” Thealbum’s onlyguest

feature is a suitablekindredspiritforthis

eraof FKATwigs.As Futuredidwithdown-

cast breakuprecordslikeMonsterandBeast

Mode,asBeyoncédid

whenlifehandedher

lemons, Magdalene

burnslong-simmering

hurt forfuel, andit

drivestheartist tonew

creativeheights. ■

MAGDALENE

FKATWIGS.

YOUNGTURKS.

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FKA Twigs

PHOTOGRAPH: FKA TWIGS/YOUTUBE