CAPRISONGS

FKA Twigs

Initially, I was quite enamoured with FKA Twigs and her moody, mysterious R&B sound. After the hype around LP1 died down though, I guess I lost interest outside of a few songs here and there. With CAPRISONGS, FKA Twigs succeeded in reigning me back in, as I find this record to have quite a different tonal flavour. For one, I find a few songs here to be quite playful and vibrant. pamplemousse is a great example with it's hyper, 'click-clack' percussion, and bouncing vocal layers. which way is also supremely catchy with the descending, major melody that is mirrored by both Twigs' vocal and a warm, spacy synth. The chants that interrupt the song at one point give me the impression that Twigs can also be light-hearted and fun at times. There's still some moody tracks on here, but CAPRISONGS has much more in the way of variety, making for a much more expansive listen.

I really like the vocal diversity Twigs is bringing to the table on this mixtape as well. I'm so used to hearing her delicate whisper track after track that I was generally surprised to hear some fuller performances on tracks like oh my love. Twigs also demonstrates an aptitude for rapping on darjeeling where she rides the beat so well. Aside from the different performance styles, Twigs also seems to be incorporating more effects. I love the harshly tuned vocals on meta angel, which surprisingly still sound very emotive given their robotic nature. The vocal manipulations and performances come together to create a stunning vocal moment on lightbeamers. They're so dynamic and the pitch is constantly fluctuating, it really demands your attention.

The tape does have a few stumbles at points. ride the dragon and honda kick things off in predictable Twigs fashion. While I think Twigs is great on tears in the club, The Weeknd's drab performance holds this song back from being really good. Then just past halfway, there's papi bones and jealousy which have a syncopated latin vibe that I'm not super enthralled by. The tape's ending though, is incredibly strong. minds of men features some of Twigs' most captivating vocal performances ever and the melodies are sweeping. I wouldn't say the song is dark in tone, but there is a layer of melancholy that blankets the track, at least to the extent that when the song opens up in its final moments, it feels like being showered in light. I already mentioned darjeeling, but to expand on that, I really like the glitchy nature of the track. The gently plucked harp is carelessly cut up like it is failing to load. I also really like the accented bass notes that pop up every once in a while. Then the tape ends with the Arca produced thank you song. It opens with another captivating vocal over a subdued piano and later swells to incorporate layers of manipulated vocals. It is a tender and lovely way to finish.

CAPRISONGS didn't have me head-over-heels, but I certainly didn't think I would like it this much. Twigs did have some slight eccentricities in her music, however, it was mostly small curious moments in her production. On this tape, it sounded to me like Twigs brought more eccentric vocals, and also brought a much more eccentric tonal palette. It was also nice to hear Twigs just have fun through all the interludes, candid clips, and spoken word chants that pepper the tracklist. All these elements came together to form what I think is her most diverse and gratifying listen to date.