FKA twigs/Photo: FKA twigs
After the publication of this article, FKA twigs postponed her North American shows due to a visa problem. She’ll appear at The Salt Shed on June 24 and 25.
FKA twigs is an unstoppable tour de force. Originally a dancer, Tahliah Debrett Barnett blooms in her artistry with a sweep of albums that has only grown in intensity. Blending body-bending performance with gut-wrenching ballads, her aesthetic niche flows from her like rich ambrosia ripe for ethereally authentic release. Following the release of her highly anticipated album “Eusexua,” she lands in Chicago for two raving shows on March 26-27 at The Salt Shed. Expect nonstop show-stopping moments as twigs edges the crowd into a state of awe.
Twigs’ musicality is difficult to place; sometimes trip-hop or avant-pop, and more recently leaning EDM, it is best characterized through her body and visual language. In a moment where danceability and short-form virtuality—made popular through TikTok—rule pop, Barnett has only leaned into highly technical choreography. In her music video for “Cellophane” (2019), she is captivating during a minute-long lead-in; her heels, clacking on a polished stage, punctuate far-off cheers, until poetry flows from her throat: “Didn’t I do it for you?/Why don’t I do it for you?/Why won’t you do it for me?/When all I do is for you?” She is alone in the video, pole dancing slowly with impeccable control as she contorts wearing next to nothing, no longer a backup dancer but the star of her own show.
Barnett released “LP1” in 2014 to critical acclaim, winning a Mercury Prize and ranked the number-one album of the year by Time. Her next EP “M3LL155X” (pronounced “Melissa”), released in 2015, and album “Magdalene,” released in 2019, carry on her mournful odes and narrate a new pop gospel propelled with an electronic accompaniment that flutters through her vocals. On “Glass & Patron,” she sings “Am I dancing sexy yet?/Are you watching me ‘cause I move alone?” and on “Fallen Alien,” “Now you hold me close so tender/When you fall asleep I’ll kick you down.” Her early work eternally reaches forward for more as she is wrapped in the anxieties of misaligned desires.
Recent albums like 2022’s “Caprisongs” and this year’s “Eusexua” represent a remarkable jump as she owns her star status like never before. She unapologetically holds the spotlight with an esoteric brand that seems to refine her sensuality. She reaches inward on the title track, “The way that we transcribe it, baby/Can change the course of time.” Inspired by the Prague techno scene, percussion and synths reminiscent of nineties dance tracks take up more space, giving her sound a new heft that’s almost at odds with the niche she previously carved. It’s remarkably effective and forward-leaning, especially in “Drums of Death” featuring Koreless. Her movements in the joint music video are enthralling—smooth, but disjointed—she again paves a fusion of dance and sound to an incredibly forward synthesized beat. Barnett is at a watershed moment in her career; catch her throwing her entirety into FKA twigs.
FKA twigs’ “Eusexua” tour stops at The Salt Shed, 1357 North Elston, for two nights, March 26-27. Doors at 7pm; show at 8pm. The shows are sold out. More info at saltshedchicago.com.
