TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
AlbumREVIEWS: 'M3LL155X' by FKA twigs
Minutes into FKA twigsâ astonishing five-track EP M3LL155X (or Melissa, for convenienceâs sake), she pleads for someone to let her live
Change Size
Minutes into FKA twigs' astonishing five-track EP M3LL155X (or Melissa, for convenience's sake), she pleads for someone to let her live.
Over the glitchy, alluring electronica, the song 'Figure 8' takes a sudden shift that resembles something that I can only describe as a quiet explosion. And then she sings, 'I take a step, I break my neck/teach me how to lead with my middle finger.' Boom!
From what I've heard (and seen) of twigs, she's no stranger to abstract art ' whether it takes the form of dance moves, trip-hop beats, or the directions of her short films. Whether it's Tahliah Barnett or FKA twigs, experimenting with anything that makes an artist is her daily habit and also her source of exhaustion.
But I don't think I've heard anything from her this arresting; Melissa is all of twigs' stark ambitions laid bare. After her debut LP1 and her EPs, I thought she couldn't go anywhere but down, but oh man! None of the songs here are similar to the ones she's released, which, given her productivity, says a lot.
But let's talk about twigs' greatest qualities that are still intact: her breathy and erotic vocals, her sharp wordplays, her appetite for sonic variety and her moves. The last one comes from the fact that she started out as a dancer, so her music has always resembled tight-knit, complicated dance moves that she alone can do.
And now let's talk about the different ones that make Melissa twigs' most accomplished effort to date: her wit. She alludes to a submissive relationship in the song 'I'm Your Doll', in which she asks for her lover to 'love me rough'. She also sounds really pissed in the song 'In Time'. One cool thing about twigs is that even in her most desperate-sounding songs does she not sound desperate; they sound witty and ironic.
Musically, it's still an ambitious disarray of sounds, breakneck vocals and beats that Radiohead might use on rainy days. Courtesy of herself and co-producer Boots (who was responsible for Beyoncé's self-titled record), the beats inside Melissa sound very muted, but gripping all the way through. No sonic similarities guide Melissa and for an artist who has set the standard pretty high for any form of experimental art, the record is a breathtaking work.
The centerpiece of this record is twigs' most intriguing song to date: 'Glass & Patron'. It starts off with a bell-like sound before twigs' awesome vocals give way to the biggest drop on the album. And then her voice melts into the beats, as she whispers 'hold that pose for me'. Her verse is then repeated, although the tempo is ridiculously faster, and with this in mind comes the most revealing lyric from this song: 'I just want for you to love you'.
Self-empowerment isn't necessarily something twigs needs to say with a song. Because of the Twitter onslaught she suffered pertaining to racial issues, her subsequent airing of grievances is the only inspiring thing she had to say in a straightforward manner.
Other than that, you have her productivity, her ear for great, experimental music and, most importantly, her dedication to her craft. Melissa is an extension of this quality and only because her art has always been far from what we've come to expect from her.
