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2024 was a “Brat” summer. A summer defined by a bass-boosted, hyperpop sound that was an homage to the rave scene Charli XCX started out in as a teenager.

Could it be the winter of FKA Twigs’ “Eusexua”? Probably not, and it’s not because of the album’s less catchy name, which evokes contortionist, raunchy imagery, unlike the youthful pep of “Brat.”

And it isn’t because Twigs has less so-called mainstream appeal than Charli XCX. Her 2019 album, “Magdalene,” topped Billboard’s Dance/Electronic charts and “Cellophane” became a meme around January 2023. She’s also won several awards and starred in 2024’s “The Crow” — though that definitely isn’t the best example of quality art.

So why won’t “Eusexua” catch fire like “Brat” did?

The entire aesthetic of “Brat” was sleazy dance music. The lyrics were nihilistic and obsessed with party culture. “Eusexua” is virtually the opposite. It’s downtempo, more offbeat and akin to the spacey ‘90s trip-hop sound. The lyrics are all extremely sexual, carnal and primal. There’s a lot of art pop, with characteristic electronic freakouts and orchestral moments, but also plenty of traditional beat-driven pop — like if Björk and Lady Gaga had a mechanical baby.

Sexuality and bodies are at the forefront of “Eusexua,” likely due to the controversy surrounding Twigs’ 2024 Calvin Klein ad. The ad was banned by the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority because it believed the image placed focus on her body, not the clothes being advertised.

But who remembers the clothes Jeremy Allen White was wearing in his Calvin Klein ad? Twigs herself made that point on Instagram, calling out the double standard. She also defended it as an assertion of bodily strength, considering she underwent major surgery in 2017 to remove six tumors from her uterus. The ban was later lifted.

So, it’s fair to say that the album’s obsession with sex, bodies, pleasure and liberation could be drawn from that controversy.

Alex Levy | Contributing Designer

The title track opens with a driving beat, obsessed with sex as a vehicle to intimate knowledge of another person. There’s a question dancing on the song (“Do you feel alone?”), and when it’s answered (“You are not alone”), the building bassbeat climaxes.

“Girl Feels Good” is an assurance to men that if they can prioritize the pleasure of their women partners, they’ll be kept around. Though that sounds transactional, it isn’t presented that way. Twigs believes that if men can put aside their psychological predispositions toward war, and focus on their partner, the “world will go ‘round.” It’s a refutation of toxic masculinity.

“Drums of Death” is blaring, with booming drums that lead right into one of the most obscene moments on the album. “Room of Fools” isn’t much different; the beat is a bit more difficult and complex, but the track articulates pretty much the same themes as the rest of the album thus far.

But “Sticky” presents the album’s first conflict, as Twigs, backed by a quiet synthesizer, expresses a desire to break free of “sticky” situations and explore consistent intimacy. She wants to release internalized pain and simultaneously be explored, in all the “deepest and darkest places” of her body. The track becomes emotionally driven and the beat drop, though faster paced, still retains the emotion of its slower beginning.

Anyone who knows Twigs shouldn’t be surprised at her pivot into crushing emotion here. After all, “Magdalene” was written after her engagement with Robert Pattinson ended, with the album exploring the separation of two codependent people. Losing that intimacy is alienating, and much of “Eusexua” is about searching for something that’s missing.

The strangest thing about the album isn’t all the eroticism, but the fact that North West, Kanye West’s 11-year-old daughter, is featured rapping in Japanese on “Childlike Things.” The track is about childlike wonder, referencing Maurice Sendak’s classic book, “Where The Wild Things Are” in the chorus. But it’s completely out of place, like a Doja Cat-esque interlude sandwiched between the rest of the album’s songs.

The rest of the songs, like “Striptease” and “24hr Dog,” play like a rip-off of Bjork’s “Vespertine.” The album pivots toward a more downtempo tone, with Twigs leaning on her vocals to produce ethereal sounds. But it doesn’t introduce anything new or further the album’s themes beyond a lost search for intimacy.

Where “Magdalene” retains thematic consistency and develops its ideas, “Eusexua” doesn’t. It tries too hard to bring downtempo techno to the masses, while simultaneously presenting a vision of sexuality that isn’t palatable to the average person. It’s an interesting approach from an artist who constantly reinvents herself, but falls short of being as inventive as her previous releases.

Published on January 28, 2025 at 11:37 pm

Contact Ben: bnbutler@syr.edu