- FKA twigs' astrology-themed "mixtape" is an exhilarating crowd pleaser, proving that sometimes the best work comes when we don't take ourselves too seriously.
- In a capitalist society, it is far simpler to mollify our pains than it is to wholly experience them. Menstrual pangs justify the use of Advil, tension headaches call for Tylenol, and even emotional pain can be briefly deadened by a few sips of a robust cocktail—before the soreness inevitably comes roaring back, and we return to square one, burdened with the pursuit of another vice. When our responsibilities mount up, it's acceptable to seek one-step exits out of unpleasant feelings, lest we miss that important deadline, flounder through a potentially life-changing meeting or disappoint a loved one. It's no wonder, then, that those confronted with severe grief are often stumped by the seemingly never-ending turbulent months (or years) it takes to feel like their "old selves" again. There are no shortcuts in the knotty processes of healing—none at least, that haven't proven to result in greater emotional catastrophe.
On December 11, 2020, FKA twigs filed a lawsuit against her former boyfriend, actor Shia LaBeouf, for sexual battery and physical and psychological abuse. The relationship lasted for just under a year, but in her harrowing account she speaks of being strangled, squeezed to the point of bruising and knowingly given a sexual transmitted disease by LaBeouf. twigs also experienced all the telltale signs of psychological abuse, namely social isolation—the singer left her London home after LaBeouf convinced her to stay in Los Angeles with him—and "love bombing," the act of inundating a victim with affection and movie-worthy romantic gestures, particularly at the very beginning of the relationship or during a relationship rough spot.
A month after the allegations went public, the London artist told BBC's Louis Theroux she had spent most of 2020's lockdown period recovering from the relationship, something she admits "that I don't think we talk about as a society, just in terms of the healing of leaving," she said. "How much work that has to be done to recover to get back to the person you were before. That is time consuming, and it's exhausting."
In that interview she hinted at "a lighter album," something she expanded upon across her various Instagram posts promoting the album the week leading up to its release. "CAPRISONGS is my journey back to myself through my amazing collaborators and friends," she says under one post. The record, which is by far her best one yet, was inspired by the time she spent isolating during lockdown—when twigs, like many of us, relied more heavily on virtual connection and socially distanced conversations with friends. During this period she grew curious about the connections that keep humans aloft during such dark moments, which led her to start recording snippets of her interactions. "Having such wonderful people around me to laugh with made me feel lucky," she wrote. "If you are lonely or feel isolated or void of encouragement by your immediate circle you can borrow my friends on the mixtape."
twigs' second LP, MAGDALENE, carried itself with a stately melancholy. It was the album that saw her learn how to sword fight and pole dance for the sole purpose of including the choreography in the project's music videos, while the songs, stripped down in production, centered her ethereal, operatic vocals. It felt like an album asking to be received as serious. Her latest record, on the other hand, is refreshingly playful, even silly. The title was inspired by her astrological sign, or in her words, "my stubborn caprisun ass telling me to work through my pain by delivering at work." The theme is executed with a wink throughout—one of the album's best interludes parodies an astrological reading.
The moment twigs teases, "when are you going to take me out to play?" on the triumphant opener "ride the dragon," it's clear that this is the record that could transform the critically acclaimed artist into a genre-hopping pop and R&B star. (It goes nicely with recent releases from Tinashe and Doja Cat.) Like a standard mainstream pop record, CAPRISONGS boasts a laundry list of guest features and jumps across a broad spectrum of club-ready styles. "papi bones," with Shygirl, shows her exploring sultry dancehall, while on "which way," featuring Dystopia, twigs could be mistaken for a young Grimes chirping over quirky but introspective beats. On her collaboration with Jorja Smith and Unknown T, "darjeeling," she dips into grime, trying her hand in rapping, which she actually pulls off successfully several times across the project.
In the corners of the album that aren't made for clubbers, twigs turns inward, gingerly reflecting the breakneck pace at which emotions bubble up and dissipate in isolation, and the community we lean on to process our internal trials. In "lightbeamers," a song enveloped in sweet, chime-like piano notes, twigs brings her voice to a feathery falsetto to serenade those downtrodden and insecure with a pep talk of sorts: "I'll tell you what you're gonna do for tonight / Makе a list of the truth / Put down the things that make you you." The album's last track, the solemn piano ballad "thank you interlude," begins with the most raw and relatable lines on the entire project: "I wanted to die, I'm just being honest / No longer afraid to say it out loud."
The album is also speckled with world-building interludes that capture the boundless sea of stories shared between close friends, particularly women. Anecdotes of past love affairs make their way onto the record, along with encouraging reminders to not lose sleep over "these stupid boys." "meta angel" opens with a clip where twigs explains how, despite yearly goals to overcome her shyness, she ultimately hasn't made significant progress. "I wanna be more confident, I really do," she tells a friend. Offering up the consoling warmth of a practiced emotional cheerleader, her friend in turn assures her that she's "gonna be more free" in the coming year. "And you're gonna laugh more," they continue, "and you're gonna have more fun." The voice resonates like a reassuring hug.
For the average person who cannot fathom how one balances gravity-defying pole dancing, vigorous dance routines and disciplined sword-fighting with out-of-this-world vocal mastery, twigs is—often unfairly—catapulted to superhuman status. Artists of her mettle are rarely associated with the kind of unglamorous emotions that pervade everyday life, the so-called blemishes of shyness, feelings of undesirability and self-doubt. But on CAPRISONGS, as cloaked as she is in the aura of pop stardom, listeners also bear witness to the facets of twigs' personality that are typically reserved for close girlfriends in the retreat of intimate gatherings, late-night texts or mundane phone calls that extend for hours.
In that BBC interview last year, Theroux asked twigs if she wrote CAPRISONGS in response to the struggles she faced in her past relationship, a question which she denied. But after giving it further thought, she said, "I think I spent so much time in darkness with him that when I've been in lockdown and missing my friends and going out and getting ready and dancing, I've wanted to make music for the people that I love," she revealed. "Yeah, I'm sure subconsciously if I went through all the lyrics, there will be things there."
Either way, twigs' latest pop masterpiece reminds us that to feel is to live, gracefully capturing the serotonin-filled celebrations and the depression-induced tears that make us humans living through inconceivably challenging times. The album is not only one that fans will cherish for years to come, but it will surely be the record that draws a whole new generation of fans into her deeply personal, and always captivating, world.
Tracklist01. Ride The Dragon
02. Honda feat. Pa Salieu
03. Meta Angel
04. Tears In The Club feat. The Weeknd
05. Oh My Love
06. Pamplemousse
07. Caprisongs Interlude
08. Lightbeamers
09. Papi Bones feat. Shygirl
10. Which Way feat. Dystopia
11. Jealousy feat. Rema
12. Careless feat. Daniel Caesar
13. Minds Of Men
14. Minds Of Men (Outro)
15. Darjeeling feat. Jorja Smith & Unknown T
16. Christie Interlude
17. Thank You Song