LP1 is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter FKA twigs. It was released on August 6th 2014 through Young. The album was supported by three singles, two of which preceded its release: "Two Weeks", "Pendulum", and "Video Girl". twigs collaborated with several producers on the album, including Arca, Emile Haynie, DevontΓ© Hynes, Paul Epworth and Clams Casino.
Upon its release, the album received widespread critical acclaim from music critics and was placed very high on several critics' year-end lists. The album was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize and the award for Best Recording Package at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015.
Background and release[]
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 August 6, 2013, The Guardian profiled FKA twigs for their "New Band of the Day" feature, describing her as "the 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 September 17, 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 also featured on Billboardβ's 14 Artists to Watch in 2014.
Singles[]
The lead single from LP1, "Two Weeks", was released on June 24, 2014 as a digital download and on July 29, 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 June 24, 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 January 14, 2015 and depicts FKA Twigs tied up with her own hair.
The album's third and final single, "Video Girl", was sent to contemporary hit radio in the United Kingdom on October 13, 2014. The accompanying music video was directed by Kahlil Joseph and premiered on October 29, 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 normalisedrating 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 Weeklystated, "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."
Jonathan Zwickel of Spin described the album as "unconventional stuff, drug-like, elemental and extraterrestrial" and opined, "In its menacing incandescence, LP1 sounds like nothing else in the world right now." Pitchfork's Philip Sherburne praised LP1 as a "huge album" and a "monumental debut", while writing that "FKA twigs is not a masterful lyricist, at least not yet; some of her couplets feel clunky, like she's grasping in the dark for rhymes and coming up with the objects closest to hand [...] But when she zeroes in on the essence of a thing, she hits hard." Alexis Petridis of The Guardian viewed the album as "a singular piece of work in an overcrowded market", and expressed that it "has its flaws [...] but you leave it convinced that FKA Twigs is an artist possessed of a genuinely strong and unique vision, one that doesn't need bolstering with an aura of mystique." Hazel Sheffield of NME commented that the album "impresses with its futuristic vision of R&B" and remarked that FKA Twigs's "pervading sense of control and commitment to her art proves that Twigs is set on building the sound of the future all by herself." Felicity Martin of Clash stated, "Fragile, heavenly and utterly compelling; this debut paves the way for boundaries-pushing pop. This is music that shatters you with a single tap." Q praised the music as an "uncanny" hybrid variously recalling "indie R&B... and nervy trip hop". Rolling Stone's Julianne Escobedo Shepherd found the album to be "far more substantial" than FKA Twigs's two previously released EPs, adding that her "deconstructed shards of U.K. grime and garage land heavier, while elegiac vocals soften the songs without blunting their edge."
Track-listing[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Preface" | FKA twigs | FKA twigs | 1:46 |
| 2. | "Lights On" | Arca, Tic & FKA twigs | Arca | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Two Weeks" | Emile Haynie & FKA twigs | Emile Haynie | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Hours" | Arca, DevontΓ© Hynes, Clams Casino, Emile Haynie & FKA twigs | DevontΓ© Hynes, Clams Casino, Emile Haynie & Arca | 4:35 |
| 5. | "Pendulum" | FKA twigs & Paul Epworth | FKA twigs & Paul Epworth | 4:58 |
| 6. | "Video Girl" | Emile Haynie & FKA twigs | Emile Haynie | 3:47 |
| 7. | "Numbers" | FKA twigs & Sampha | FKA twigs & Sampha | 3:43 |
| 8. | "Closer" | Tic & FKA twigs | FKA twigs | 3:45 |
| 9. | "Give Up" | Arca, Emile Haynie & FKA twigs | Emile Haynie | 4:17 |
| 10. | "Kicks" | Compass & FKA twigs | FKA twigs | 5:24 |
| Total length: | 40:46 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "One Time" | Daniel Aged, Andrew Aged & FKA twigs | Inc. no world & FKA twigs | 4:17 |
| Total length: | 44:63 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Weak Spot" | FKA twigs | FKA twigs, Tic | 3:43 |
| 12. | "Ache" | FKA twigs | FKA twigs, Tic | 5:00 |
| 13. | "Breathe" | FKA twigs | FKA twigs, Tic | 4:16 |
| 14. | "Hide" | FKA twigs | FKA twigs, Tic | 2:59 |
| Total length: | 55:64 | |||
Personnel[]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of LP1.
Studios[]
- Emile Haynie's Studio β recording (tracks 3, 4, 6, 9)
- Metropolis Mastering (London) β mastering
Musicians[]
- FKA Twigs β vocals (all tracks); instruments (track 1); string arrangements, bass arrangement (track 2); additional drums (tracks 2, 6); Tempest (tracks 3, 7); drums (tracks 5, 8, 10); keyboards (track 5); bass (track 7); synths (track 10)
- Lucki Eck$ β demon voice (track 1)
- Arca β additional vocals (track 2); additional programming (tracks 3, 4); synth (track 3); instruments (track 4); additional sounds, programming (track 9)
- Andrew Aged β guitar (track 2)
- Tic β guitar (tracks 2, 8); additional drums (track 2); drums (track 8)
- Daniel Aged β upright bass (track 2); additional keyboards (track 10)
- Emile Haynie β instruments, drums (tracks 3, 9); synths, Mellotron, additional drums (track 4)
- DevontΓ© Hynes β guitar (track 4)
- Paul Epworth β drums, guitar, keyboards, piano (track 5)
- Cy An β keyboards, additional drum edits (track 5); additional programming (track 6); piano (tracks 6, 10); drums (tracks 8, 10); synths (track 10)
- LJ Howe β bass guitar (track 6)
- Sampha β drums, synths, piano (track 7)
Technical[]
- FKA Twigs β production (tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 10); additional production (tracks 3, 6)
- Joseph Hartwell Jones β vocal recording (tracks 2, 3, 9, 10); additional vocal recording (track 4); engineering (track 5); additional engineering (track 6)
- Arca β production (tracks 2, 4); additional production (track 9)
- Emile Haynie β production, recording (tracks 3, 4, 6, 9)
- DevontΓ© Hynes β production (track 4)
- Clams Casino β production (track 4)
- Paul Epworth β production (track 5)
- Sampha β production (track 7)
- Cy An β additional production (tracks 8, 10)
- Tic β additional production (track 8)
- David Wrench β mixing
- John Davis β mastering
Artwork[]
- Jesse Kanda β imagery
- FKA Twigs β design
- Phil Lee β design
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
| Chart (2014-2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 30 |
| Austrian Albums (Γ3 Austria) | 42 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) | 16 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 46 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) | 14 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 60 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 94 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 50 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) | 33 |
| Irish Independent Albums (IRMA) | 6 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) | 109 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 38 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC) | 34 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 43 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 16 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC) | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 | 30 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) | 3 |
| US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
Year-end charts[]
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) | 17 |
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard) | 10 |