Once a year there is an album which blows all expectations out of the water. With no release since 2016 and no album since 2014, FKA twigs was virtually in hibernation. But when she awoke from her metaphorical slumber, she hit the ground running.
“Magdalene” is her best work yet, written in a time of deep sorrow after her relationship with a teen superstar was publicly ridiculed and when she was expected not to mention the recovery she had to go through after the removal of fibroids from her uterus. All these events taking place caused her to be highly introspective.
These situations caused her to find solace in the story of Mary Magdalene, hence the album title. Magdalene was the most misunderstood character of the New Testament; she was looked down upon by the many men of her day, yet Jesus accepted her and gave her hope.
The album begins with twigs singing amongst an ancient church choir on “thousand eyes.” This song is followed by arguably the angriest track on the album, “home with you.” This track builds from a slight whisper up to a ferocious-sounding track attacking her former partner in an auto-tuned rant. When the chorus hits, she seems to partially acknowledge her wrongdoing, “I didn’t know that you were lonely/ If you had just told me, I’d be home with you.” Then the rant starts all over again, this time leading to a much bigger climax.
Twigs teams up with Future on the anthem “holy terrain.” Twigs is searching for a man who fits what she wants, someone not like her ex and someone who deserves her and who she is, not someone who takes her for granted.
The cinematic masterpiece that is “cellophane” sounds as if it is straight out of the Anne Hathaway scene of Les Misérables. The track is the perfect ending to a near perfect album. In this song especially, her voice is magnificent. You can hear she is on the brink of tears throughout the entire song, yet she keeps herself composed and provides us with a beautiful piece of work. Amongst all the anger-fueled melodies in this vulnerable piece of art, she depicts that even though she is angry, she is still hurt. We are shown just how much this past relationship, mixed in with all the scrutiny she received, truly messed her up.
Arguably this album belongs in a movie—no, scratch that—this album deserves to have its own movie. This is such a sensational piece of art which changed the game. Twigs’ cross-genre style is something which leaves you awestruck and infatuated, wanting more. If the year were to end today, this album would be No. 1 on my list of favorites for 2019.
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