It is unique music at a unique level—rarely do we encounter someone this young and creative who is also this technically skilled.
With M3LL155X – pronounced “Melissa”, and apparently code for her “personal female energy” – FKA twigs confirms the evidence furnished by last year’s LP1 that she is the most dynamic and imaginative young talent working in British pop music today.
The effect of the album is soothing and challenging all at once; full of complex messaging yet equally suitable as backdrop for studying; worthy of lingering concentration on each and every note or dozing off to on an airplane.
On M3LL155X, she does seem to be growing stronger, testing the boundaries between light and unfathomable darkness, the breathtaking and the nauseating.
The songs lack centers, or even hooks, and aren't easily assimilated, but unmistakable themes emerge: Through a feverish haze of sounds and sights, M3LL155X asks big questions about femininity, sex and power.
It's twigs' most experimental offering yet, and a good sign she won't be streamlining her sound for something more accessible (and less exciting) on her sophomore full-length.
At a time when twigs’ reality is becoming more and more public ... the challenge of teasing audience expectations and controlling an artistic persona would seem far greater. With this EP, twigs pulls it off expertly, fracturing and blurring her musical self.
A beautiful, haunting project that goes through vulnerability, abuse, and transformation.
This one took some extra effort to fully understand as the poetry is woven in such an otherworldly way. It’s one of this projects strongest upsides, keeping it interesting with every listen. Once you understand these tracks, they become obvious with further listens. A great example of “the more listens the better”.
I can’t even begin with the sound of this thing. It’s ... read more
Revenge, jealousy, sex, submission, motherhood, freedom and Tahlilah with the same level of excellence as always.
M3LL1X5 is a dark, disturbing, uncomfortable (in the good sense of the word) EP from the singer who seems to be the Björk of this generation. This EP is where the production and the autotune show off more than ever in her other works, although I like Magdalene more, this album is better in these terms, it really helps these songs, the maximum example is In Time (my favorite): ... read more
wow. i wasn't expecting the new ep from twigs to come out for a couple more months (i haven't been following the release date much) so this came out of nowhere for me. easily my favorite of her 3 eps, significantly better than both. it's as if twigs took the best moments of LP1 (closer, two weeks, pendulum, video girl) and made them even more spacey and electronically oriented. this proves that fka twigs was far from done with new and adventurous songs, and has much more coming.
I loved all ... read more
So far I've enjoyed fka twig's work usually what i know of uk hip hop or glitch pop or art pop, but not as artistic or experimental as this which would come off as slightly weak or lackluster of elements I would usually hear. Which led to thinking this was the weakest yet decent fka twigs work. Well luckily duo Let' eat Grandma and sophie have introduced me heavily towards the different depths of deconstructed elements, which made me revisit this album and safe to say I completely enjoyed it ... read more
Shoutout to @MountainBoy for the recommendation.
A project that admittedly I didn't quite get after the first listen. But upon a second and third listen really grew on me.
A big reason for that initial rejection came because I was expecting a typical Art-Pop project where the lyricism and production have sustained cohesion throughout. This EP definitely doesn't do that (in a good way). In my eyes this project reads more as performative poetry, and its important to interpret the imagery ... read more
1 | Figure 8 3:03 | 92 |
2 | I'm Your Doll 3:10 | 87 |
3 | In Time 4:32 | 93 |
4 | Glass & Patron 4:18 | 92 |
5 | Mothercreep 3:36 | 91 |