Eusexua

The emotions in FKA twigs music are so complex, its no wonder she coins new words to describe them. Her third album, EUSEXUA, is named for a fusion of euphoria and sexuality, and her pursuit of this blissful loss of self traces a journey paved with intimate truths. The first steps she takes are onto the dancefloor. Inspired by the music she fell in love with in Pragues clubs while on the set of The Crow, twigs uses the pounding heartbeat of dance music as the backdrop for some of her most physical, confessional, and empowering songs. On the title track, a four-on-the-floor beat grounds her voice as she reaches for ecstatic heights that she refuses to call love; on "Girl Feels Good," the filtered synths and slinky grooves hark back to William Orbits work on Madonnas Ray of Light, another album that found epiphanies in the club. Though FKA twigs collaborators include A-list producers like Koreless, Stargate, and Sasha, EUSEXUAs throb is as far away from Caprisongs musical hangouts as that mixtape was from Magdalenes cloistered art-pop. Even at its catchiest, like the sleek celebration of no-strings-attached encounters on "Perfect Stranger," the albums reliance on choruses and hooks doesnt seem like a bid for greater fame. Rather, the glitchy Y2K fembot sounds of "Drums of Death" and the unnaturally perky bounce of "Childlike Things" feel like attempts to escape lingering undercurrents of pain and betrayal that cant be outrun or out-danced. As twigs teeters between the safety of anonymity and fantasies and the risks and rewards of revealing herself fully, EUSEXUA becomes even richer. The albums frank second half is more free flowing and conversational than any of her previous music, particularly on "Sticky," a painfully self-aware moment of introspection ("It hurts so bad to shed my skin/With you watching") that feels equally akin to the confessions of brat and twigs own "Water Me." She confronts the tangling of love, lust, and self bravely, no matter how complicated it gets. On "Striptease," she illustrates how quickly being open with a partner can veer from authentic to performative with her breathlessly desperate vocals. Her willingness to venture into uncomfortable territory makes for some of EUSEXUAs most gripping listening; its notable that she sounds closest to the bliss she seeks when she exorcises her pain with the cathartic snarl of "Room of Fools" or explores submission on "24hr Dog." By the time the album closes with "Wanderlust," a stunning epilogue that falls somewhere between SZA and This Mortal Coils "Song to the Siren," FKA twigs has guided listeners through a remarkably honest song cycle. The complexities are where her music thrives, and EUSEXUA abounds with them. ~ Heather Phares

2023年の〈パリ・ファッションウィーク〉で行われたヴァレンティノのショウに出演するなど、音楽界以外からも注目を集めるFKAツイッグスのサード・アルバム。タイトルの〈ユーセクシュア〉は彼女による造語で、時間を忘れるフロウ状態の一種という意味だそうだ。3拍目に食い気味でスネアを入れるビートがもろにUKガラージな"Perfect Stranger"など、本作のサウンドはさまざまなダンス・ミュージックの影響下にある。シケイン"Offshore"が脳裏に浮かぶトランシーな"Room Of Fools"を筆頭に、享楽的なビートが前面に出ているのも特徴だ。
bounce (C)近藤真弥