CAPRISONGS Is A Celebration Of Recovery

Birthed during the early stages of the pandemic, FKA twigs’ new mixtape CAPRISONGS is a celebration of recovery. With just as much verve as an official release, producer El Guincho (producer of Rosalía’s 2018 album El Mal Querer) provides the intricate and ambitious sound that we’ve come to expect from her, while new collaborators and a refreshed attitude help twigs expand her musical palette. Named after her astrological sun sign, Capricorn, the mixtape is an ode to hard work, which is itself its own reward. And it is clear that twigs takes pleasure in controlling her journey to healing, specifically by acknowledging and honoring her influences.

Much of the mixtape features the unmistakable vibe of UK rap and bass that is integral to twigs’ South London upbringing. British rapper Pa Salieu hops on “honda,” an energetic, bass heavy track with divine choral flourishes that finds the pair navigating British motorways while blazing up. twigs further flexes her rapping abilities on “darjeeling.” Jorja Smith and Unknown T join her on the UK drill style track, the three voicing their appreciation for the city they share.

But twigs contains multitudes, so she isn’t confined to just one sound. twigs teams up with Nigerian rapper Rema on “jealousy” to simulate two envious lovers quarreling over an Afropop inspired beat. “papi bones” features English rapper Shygirl on full-on a dancehall tune complete with an MC hyping the two up as they whine and revel to the beat. The 2021 single “tears in the club” which features mega-pop star The Weeknd finds the two swooning and crooning, falsettos syndicating in lush unison over an infectious beat, providing the perfect soundtrack to help you dance your way through heartbreak.

CAPRISONGS is an outlet for twigs to express and empower herself in whichever ways she can. Since the beginning of her career she has been upfront about her sensuality, both reveling in intimacy with her lovers and delighting in the power that her sensuality provides her. She isn’t afraid to take control, like on the mixtape’s opening track, “ride the dragon,” where her voice is chopped, slowed, and distorted as she encourages her lover to steal a kiss. Nor is she afraid to be vulnerable, like on the duet with Canadian R&B singer Daniel Caesar, “careless,” where the two harmonize over a three chord progression accompanied by a simple drum track as they emulate two lovers surrendering their trust to one another.

“oh my love” is a slow, groovy tune. A plucky melody plays over a simple yet hazy guitar while twigs confronts a lover about wanting more effort from him in their relationship. The outro features a message from a friend: “Love yourself, know your worth, and fuck crying over these stupid boys.” Her friends appear sprinkled throughout the mixtape, songs and interludes are spliced with snippets of her conversations from the early wave of lockdowns. “I started recording my friends talking and weaved it through the mixtape like a narrative of my healing,” she posted on twitter. “Having such wonderful people around me to laugh with. made me feel lucky.”

As twigs recovers from loss, loneliness, isolation, and a general anxiety towards the future, she does so with the composure of a woman in total control of her own healing. It’s the Capricorn in her. CAPRISONGS ends with “thank you song,” a statement of gratitude for those who have uplifted and celebrated her along her journey back to herself. “'Cause you care, I made it through today,” she sings. With a renewed sense of self, she sends some of that love she has received back into the world, offering a shoulder to cry on, a beat to dance to, and a tender reminder that you’re not alone.

[Vicente Rios is a writer but more importantly a collective hallucination. Please drink water.]