FKA twigs

LP1

LP1 is a fantastic debut from an artist who is quickly becoming the curator of her own mental museum.

Quiet as it may be, this is a huge album, a monumental debut. On a formal level, it takes the kinds of risks that few pop artists, and few "experimental" artists, for that matter, are willing to take these days.

This might be FKA twigs' first full-length, but it demands attention. She's bringing influences from every corner of the musical globe and turning them into something cohesive and wonderful.

Certainly FKA Twigs has her own unique brand of R&B, which touches on experimental pop with some ethereal Kate bush vibes thrown in too. Talking about young love and insecurities, she does so in a fresh, exciting way.

LP1 isn’t anything revolutionary; it’s a frankly expressed project focused on the dualism between love and lust, reality and fantasy.

LP1 is stylish and substantial, thanks to Barnett's striking voice and beats that sound as if they're transmitting from another planet.

All this sonic delirium shockingly coalesces into genuinely captivating hooks and stunningly sensual atmospherics.

FKA Twigs' debut album showcases the UK-based singer's most coherent songs yet; creatively mashing together contemporary R&B with art pop and experimental hip hop-style production.

Barnett's music is the latest chapter in the ongoing transatlantic vogue for barely-there R&B, and this album joins her two previously released EPs in providing the subgenre with new heights.

Even at its most vulnerable ... LP1 is a hugely self-possessed debut, the work of an artist whose vision – not only her visual sense – is strong.

She gets her kicks plenty across LP1 - lines like “I could kiss you for hours” and “only thing left to do is each other” made refrains - but rarely does it seem cool.

LP1 is far from perfect, but its consistency of tone, its thematic rigour and its commitment to developing a musical grammar all of its own serve to override these momentary weaknesses.

It reads like a whispered confessional; a generous and sure-footed adventure whose studio smarts (snappy beats, exquisitely detailed backing) provide foundation for a unique and thrilling new voice.

Her brilliant debut album is a collection of forward-thinking electro-R&B tracks packed with unexpected sonic details

‘LP1’ is a brave first step that she had to take. It’s not perfect, but anything this expressive and personally vital rarely is.

This pervading sense of control and commitment to her art proves that Twigs is set on building the sound of the future all by herself.

When the tunes match the invention of the production, LP1 is genuinely brilliant.

In the end, LP1 is probably the most singular pop album of the year. It's testament to how emotionally affecting one person's realised vision can be.

The record’s successes, its thrills and intimations of where FKA twigs could go with more time and cash on hand, more than make up for its weak spots. She’s not quite there yet, but it seems FKA twigs might actually be the next generation pop star we’ve been promised for so long.

There is no single powerful element that obscures the other through LP1, however, and Bartlett’s previous EP proves this is still very much her singular vision. 

Over the course of the 10 tracks here FKA twigs often leaves you enraptured, however, what’s arguably even more promising is the sense that this fascinating artist can go in any sort of direction from here and achieve even greater heights.

LP1 is more than just a confident debut album. It's primordial in a way that Björk herself has often attempted but frequently short-circuited letting her cognizance get in the way.

Fragile, heavenly and utterly compelling; this debut paves the way for boundaries-pushing pop. This is music that shatters you with a single tap.

These songs are undoubtedly sexy and sexual, but some shuddering darkness seems attached to each track.

Twigs' deconstructed shards of U.K. grime and garage land heavier, while elegiac vocals soften the songs without blunting their edge.

LP1 is a solid, fully confident pop album built from the same blocks that formed her previous release, which nevertheless forgoes the bewilderingly alien quality of her best work.

There are some excellent tracks here – ‘Lights On’, ‘Two Weeks’, ‘Pendulum’ – and her talent is obvious, but the men at the production desk could perhaps have been braver.