Album Review: FKA twigs Goes Through the Modern Dark Ages on 'MAGDALENE'
FKA twigs’ follow-up to her acclaimed LP1 is filled with heartbreak and the desire to rebuild from the ground up.
Written by Lauren Cook
Photo courtesy of Matthew Stone
Nearly five years, one EP, and one intermittent single later, FKA twigs is back with her second studio album. The time between FKA twigs’ two bodies of work was tumultuous for her, to say the least. In 2017, FKA twigs’ highly publicized and scrutinized relationship with her long-term partner and fiancé came to an end. The breakup was understandably life-shattering, and between that and a health scare, twigs needed time to step back from her work and recuperate.
Heartbreak is not new to twigs. Tracks like “Pendulum” and “Numbers” from her debut LP1 address some of the insecurities in her past relationships. However, MAGDALENE is undeniably heavier than any of her previous work. In a press release, twigs describes her heartbreak as something “all-encompassing” that stopped her from being able to express herself “in the ways [she has] always loved.” Getting back to the music-making process required some time to rebuild, and she managed to find some solace in the story of Mary Magdalene, the supposed close confidant of Jesus Christ, after whom the album is named. FKA twigs has always been honest, but MAGDALENE is twigs at her most raw and real. She’s open with her unhappiness, and she doesn’t even for a moment try and pretend that she’s alright. It’s this brutal honesty that makes MAGDALENE feel like a privilege to be trusted with, and twigs’ phenomenal vocals and vanguard production amplify the fact that this project is something to behold.
The opening track “thousand eyes” begins where twigs’ relationship ends. “If I walk out the door, it starts our last goodbye / If you don't pull me back, it wakes a thousand eyes,” sings twigs at the start of the track. She repeats these lyrics, accompanied only by her own echoes, before a slow, pounding drum beat joins her lament. The song is haunting and medieval, as if it were a hymn being carried throughout the halls of a 13th-century monastery. Halfway through the track, the song begins to crescendo as twigs enters into her falsetto, growing more emotional. The drums follow suite, becoming louder and heavily distorted. However, this doesn’t last long, and the song levels out once more for the remainder of the track. This is essentially the blueprint for MAGDALENE — it’s melancholic, filled with soft piano and chamber ballads mixed with FKA twigs’ signature experimental and glitchy production.
Image courtesy of Matthew Stone
Following the opener, the next three tracks, “home with you,” “sad day,” and “holy terrain,” are all singles that were released ahead of the album. In the context of the entire album, this first half is perhaps the weakest spot of the project. The production on “sad day” is extraordinarily dynamic, but twigs’ monotonous singing grows tiresome over time. By itself, “holy terrain” is a perfectly fine track. The Future feature is a pleasant surprise, and the trap pop beats are refreshing proof that twigs can expand past her usual sound. But against the backdrop of MAGDALENE, it’s these elements that disrupt the sonic cohesion of the project. Of the three, “home with you” is the only one that can hold a candle to the rest of the project. The song possesses a sort of Jekyll and Hyde quality to it, switching from sinister autotuned vocals and scratchy beats to twigs’ ethereal soprano and frenzied woodwinds. It’s an absolute delight.
MAGDALENE reaches its zenith on “fallen alien.” The track begins with some pretty formidable instrumentation — the staple piano playing minor chords, a plucky synthetic harpsichord, and the occasional cascading grated shriek. The build is kinetic and terrifying. When twigs enters, her lyrics are sharp and biting. While twigs spends most of MAGDALENE woefully mourning over the loss of her lover, “fallen alien” is the first time we see twigs expressing something else — anger. Undoubtedly a play on the phrase “fallen angel,” “fallen alien” sees twigs ditching her usual angelic register for otherworldly sounds. What sounds like an alien children’s choir adds support to twigs’ vocals throughout. Following a similar structure to “home with you,” there’s a small relief as twigs transitions from chaos-filled verses to the impassioned chorus that again is only twigs and piano. Overall, the track is aggressive and cacophonous, and arguably one of her best songs to date.
If the first chunk of MAGDALENE was the build up of twigs’ anxieties, regrets, and loneliness, and “fallen alien” was the furied cathartic release, then the back half is the aftermath of such purging of feelings — emotionally-drained, but calm and reflecting. Twigs is still grieving the relationship, but she’s finally coming to terms with it. The instrumentation is simpler, lighter, and more tranquil, emphasizing twigs’ feelings. The only qualm to be had with the back half of the album is the position of “cellophane,” the first released single, as the closer. The preceding track “daybed” seems more of a natural closer. The production of “daybed” is sweet and idyllic, and the lyrics present twigs as finally making the slow climb to hope and healing. But instead of wrapping up on a positive note, “cellophane” plunges listeners back into the despair and sadness that defines MAGDALENE, removing any sense of relief that might have been felt.
Could that have been a purposeful choice? Maybe. After all, the journey to healing is rarely a linear process. The fact that both “thousand eyes” and “cellophane” share similar paranoias of a watchful “they” that hopes for the failure of her relationships might be indicative that these things still plague twigs. A positive send-off would have been nice, but if a mournful close is a truer representation of twigs’ feelings, then so be it.
FKA twigs has been through hell and back, but it hasn’t affected her ability to put out yet another outstanding project. In many ways, MAGDALENE is more groundbreaking that her previous bodies of work. She plays around with genres, incorporating pianos, clarinets, and strings in her usual metallic sound, creating a neo-baroque style that is both ancient and futuristic. But on top of that, she graciously allows her listeners in on an extremely personal part of her life.
MAGDALENE is a reminder that healing from a heartbreak is not a quick and easy process, and it doesn’t have to be. It’s about unraveling completely and discovering yourself again. Whatever this album ends up meaning for you, one thing’s for sure — a new era of FKA twigs’ reign has begun.