Despite the almost universal critical and commercial success of FKA twigs’ debut record, this reviewer didn’t find LP1 to be necessarily worth all the hype – jarring, disjointed rhythms where there could have been grooves, and ethereal where it should have been a little more muscular. With this follow-up surprise EP, M3LL15X, twigs quashes those petty criticisms, whilst also surely pleasing fans of LP1.
Although she is still dealing in her signature warped R&B-tinged electronica, there are subtle tweaks in her sound here – for one, she sounds more comfortable, emotive and English than she’s ever sounded, and more prepared to get bodies moving.
‘Figure 8’ begins with a two-note synth bass line over stuttering beats for the first 90 seconds before being overtaken by a sustained, woozy trance chord to utterly stunning effect. Twigs finishes this bridge with an extended moan, with the song basically fading out – she knows she’s on to a winner and her confidence to forego typical pop structures is mesmerising.
Elsewhere, ’I’m Your Doll’ begins with a slinking, sinister verse and ends up erupting into a hard-rock anthem, with twigs playing the crazed ex-lover character to almost hilarious effect.
Backing this up with the emotionally terse ‘In Time’ is a masterstroke, detailing in sometimes-uncomfortable detail the last days of a dying relationship. Overdriven synth arpeggi back twigs up during the quiet verse, but the pre-chorus is punctuated with twisted, cascading synths and syncopated rhythms that resolve into the slinky, grooving chorus. Its the best track she’s ever recorded and one of the best pop songs of the year.
While the weekend anthem ‘Glass and Patron’ is deceptively complex, its one of the most plain fun and dance floor focused songs she’s ever recorded. Although the whole album is twigs’ strongest lyrically, this track in particular is full of instantly quotable lines (see: “Am I dancin’ sexy yet?”, “hold that pose for me”; “will you fuck me while I stare at the sun?”).
‘Mothercreep’ closes things out; beginning slowly, hyperactive percussion, hymnal synths and haunting, fractured vocals take over the track. A chipmunk’d twigs backs herself up as she whispers the track’s title repeatedly – its uncomfortable and a bit sinister, but a deeply satisfying close.
While the production shines throughout the EP, twigs sounds fantastic too, supremely confident and seemingly unperturbed by any external pressures. On M3LL15X, twigs realises her lofty ambitions – creating memorable, forward-thinking, affecting and complex pop music that will appeal to a lot of people.
Wyatt Lawton-Masi
