I’m like a loaded gun
I’m like a loaded gun
FKA twigs remains one of the most baffling artists working today. I love Lady Gaga and her ilk, but twigs puts her and all the other “avant-garde” musicians to shame with her genre-stretching, mind-bending music. This is her new EP (and it’s pronounced “Mellissa,” you know, in case you weren’t sure) and it’s got five more brilliant songs. She’s really made her reputation with EPs, this being her third one and having only released one full-length album.
This one’s a must listen, more of her strange, dissonant, electronic R&B. She likes to twist her voice, chopping it up into stuttering rhythms, adjusting the pitch, speeding it up just a bit; this isn’t to hide anything – she hits some incredibly high notes here without any autotune at all, but she’s dissecting the music, taking it apart and re-assembling without looking at the instructions, if you get my drift. The best song here is I’m Your Doll, a terrifying trip into obsession with the threat of violence constantly hanging over it. The dissonant rumbles and squeals in the background enhance this one immensely. But all five songs are four star efforts in my opinion. The strange ringing Glass & Patron and the grimly yearning In Time are the two other real standouts. Twigs remains a divisive artist (any genuinely ground-breaking artist will be) so you may not take to her sounds, but I’d urge you to start with an EP and, since it’s shorter than a regular album, give it a couple of listens before you pass judgment. It’s not that she’s an acquired taste exactly; it’s just that she’s so far ahead of her time that it’ll take you a while to catch up. 4 stars.
tl;dr – twigs continues to release challenging, strange, utterly compelling music; her bizarre genre-bending music continues to amaze and astound. 4 stars.