LP1 (2014)

LP1 is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter FKA Twigs, released on 6 August 2014 by Young Turks. Production for the album is handled by FKA Twigs herself, alongside Emile Haynie, Arca, Cy An, Devonté Hynes, Clams Casino, Paul Epworth, Sampha and Tic.

Upon release, LP1 received widespread critical acclaim, and placed high on several year-end critics' lists. The album spawned three singles: "Two Weeks", "Pendulum" and "Video Girl". The album was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize and the award for Best Recording Package at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

Background

FKA Twigs (then known simply as Twigs) self-released her debut extended play, EP1, on Bandcamp on 4 December 2012. Music videos were filmed for each of the four tracks and released on her YouTube channel. On 6 August 2013, The Guardian profiled FKA Twigs for their "New Band of the Day" feature, describing her as "he UK's best example to date of ethereal, twisted R&B."

FKA Twigs's second extended play, EP2, was released through the Young Turks record label on 17 September 2013. It was produced by FKA Twigs and Arca. In December 2013, she was nominated for the BBC Sound of 2014, and was chosen by Spotify for their Spotlight on 2014 list. FKA Twigs was featured on Billboard's 14 Artists to Watch in 2014.

Composition and lyrics

On LP1, Twigs expands her avant-pop landscape, yielding "boundaries-pushing" pop music. It also dons a large electronic component. Indeed, Entertainment Weekly felt that without Twigs' voice, it would be a work of avant-garde electronics. It is seen for its "glitchy futuristic" take on R&B, casting the genre in "thrilling hyper-real hues". Stereogum saw Twigs' music as "fluid" experimental R&B, while Q saw it as an "uncanny" fusion of indie R&B with "nervy" trip hop.

Lyrically, LP1 deals with themes of sex, sexual relations and intimacy.

Singles

The lead single from LP1, "Two Weeks", was released on 24 June 2014 as a digital download and on 29 July 2014 as a 12-inch single, the latter featuring the song "Pendulum" as a B-side. The music video was directed by Nabil Elderkin and premiered on 24 June 2014. "Pendulum" was released digitally as the album's second single on 30 July 2014. The self-directed music video for the song premiered on 14 January 2015 and depicts FKA Twigs tied up with her own hair.

"Video Girl", a track inspired by Twigs' experiences following her appearance in Jessie J's "Price Tag" music video, was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2014 as the album's third and final single. The accompanying music video was directed by Kahlil Joseph and premiered on 29 October 2014. The black-and-white video sees FKA Twigs dancing for a prisoner on death row, and features a cameo appearance from rapper Travis Scott.

Critical reception

LP1 received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 38 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Miles Raymer of Entertainment Weekly stated, "A singular kind of diva who asserts herself subtly, twigs sings in a near whisper that often threatens to blend in with the instruments behind it. But she exerts enough of a magnetic pull to lure listeners into some challenging territory". Christopher Hooton of The Independent wrote that "while sultry, drug-addled R&B is an increasingly crowded genre, Twigs takes a hammer to the kind that The Weeknd made famous and plays in the rubble." Hooton continued, "FKA Twigs emerges the high priestess of R&B's latest corruption, and the world will kneel at the altar." Kyle Fowle of The A.V. Club commended FKA Twigs for "manag[ing] to craft a cohesive aesthetic that draws on modern R&B and electronic while also remaining inventive", concluding, "Few debuts possess such control and ambition all in one; LP1 is the rare album that manages to sound both lived in and completely futuristic." AllMusic's Heather Phares noted the album contains "a lusher sound that's more accessible, and more overtly R&B, than FKA Twigs' earlier work but maintains its ethereal sensuality", adding that "FKA Twigs' music was already so fully realized that LP 1 can't really be called Barnett coming into her own; rather, her music has been tended to since the 'Water Me' days, and now it's flourishing."