FKA twigs, MAGDALENE, Album Review
FKA twigs
MAGDALENE
Album Review
I must admit, we are drawing all-the-more closer to the end of 2019, and the epilogue of the 2010s. With that being said, I was expecting new music to be scarce at this time.
Nevertheless, I still wanted to be as open to any new music that comes along as I possibly could. And while I hadn't listened to the debut album from experimental pop artist FKA twigs; 2014's LP1 (which had been critically acclaimed as one of this decade's best albums), her second and newest effort MAGDALENE, has finally managed to grab my attention.
When I addressed FKA twigs as experimental, it certainly wasn't my intention to use that term lightly. This album is indeed very theatrical, and incredibly arty. I feel that MAGDALENE's album cover does reflect the aesthetic of this album very well, as it truly is a piece of musical art; one that the listener will not find hard to indulge in completely.
I also feel that the mood that this album creates is fitting for a release that has come at this time of year, as it provides the listener with a very downbeat and cold tone, which I could imagine will only boost its memorability.
In addition, the atmosphere of MAGDALENE is highly whimsical and dream-like, and it creates a simultaneously beautiful and unnerving feeling. This is especially apparent on this albums second track "home with you", which begins with a subtle, creeping melody and concludes with a glorious, almost orchestral composition which soars with some beautiful vocals.
Despite all the praise I have swiftly developed for this album, I feel that it would be a little illegitimate if I reviewed this album without giving LP1 a proper listen, so I went ahead and did exactly that.
The first comparative observation that I made between the two records, is that MAGDALENE takes a far more subtle, elegant, and less "in-your-face" approach than LP1 does. And while LP1 is arguably the more accessible album thanks to its electronic influences, but MAGDALENE, in my opinion is an improvement in my eyes. I believe that it feels a tonne more unique to FKA twigs, and it is something that would be hard to copy and paste stylistically. On the other hand, it seems that LP1 has influenced a lot of experimental pop/art-pop artists in recent memory.
Despite MAGDALENE's uniqueness, I could, at a push, compare it to the likes of Lana Del Rey vocally or alt-J musically. Nevertheless, this comparison isn't too clear, just something to give you an idea of what this surreal album is like.
Speaking of the surrealism factor of this album, there is definitely a lot to keep the listener interested. The vocal effects (for instance the ones on opening track "thousand eyes"), along with more ambient electronic elements than those on LP1, make this album stick out from the 2019 collection.
In terms of the tracks individually, there is a lot of memorable and enjoyable ones to pick from. However, this is an exciting instance of an album working better when listened to from start to finish. In fact, I enjoyed seven out of nine track; the first seven to be exact. Tracks 8 and 9 are where the album got a little bit predictable an unmemorable for me. neither of these tracks are necessarily bad, just two slow jams that didn't make much of an impact in my opinion.
I feel that my favourite track at the moment is possibly "fallen alien". This track has arguably the highest level of musical theatrics, and the vocal animation give this track a bit more bite than the rest.
Considering that I was very close to skipping this record altogether, I was very glad I didn't. MAGDALENE is growing on me like a bruise. Even as I write this, I find myself thinking more fondly of this album. I imagine that by the time 2019 ends, it could just climb its way up to the higher ranks.
Thank you for reading
Booth Boy
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