Eusexua Afterglow

For FKA twigs fans, 2025 offered an embarrassment of riches. She began the year with Eusexua, an album that earned some of the greatest acclaim and chart success of her career, and she closed it with Eusexua Afterglow, a set that, true to its name, often feels like an echo of its predecessor. At times, this is because it continues Eusexuas dancefloor eroticism (as on the grinding album-opener "Love Crimes") and its mingling of pleasure and pain (like the darkly seductive "Touch a Girl"). At others, its because the vaporous sonics of songs such as "Slushy" and "Piece of Mine" softens the focus of Eusexuas hi-def sexuality with hypnotic ease. Though Afterglow began as bonus material for a deluxe edition of Eusexua, the results reflect why these songs needed a space of their own. In contrast to the weighty ambition of her previous album, here twigs is in an appealingly off-the-cuff mode that recalls Caprisongs, particularly on "Wild and Alone," a winning duet with PinkPantheress, and "Cheap Hotel," which pulls hip-hop and trip-hop into its orbit with disorienting tempo shifts. Frequently, Afterglows looser, more experimental feel evokes the magic of FKA twigs early EPs; the 3 a.m. comedown of "Lost All My Friends in the Club" reveals she still expresses aching solitude like few others. She also reminds listeners of how audacious she can be: "Sushi," which samples her own "Glass & Patron" and shifts into a commanding ballroom rhythm, is a standout. So is the dreamlike rush of "Stereo Boy," one of several moments that could be a pop hit if twigs had opted for more conventional production. Thats the point of this album -- its the kind of exploratory, playful move an artist can deliver once she’s established herself. FKA twigs may have already made 2025 her own with Eusexua, but Eusexua Afterglow is far from an afterthought. ~ Heather Phares