FKA Twigs – “Fallen Alien”

Magdalene is backloaded with some of FKA Twigs strongest individual tracks to date. ‘fallen alien’ is a career highlight and immediate song of 2019 contender, possessing one of the most rhythmically complex and aesthetically rich atmospheres that she’s ever crafted. The track commences with gentle piano notes and electronic effects that are jolted to the forefront with the synth-equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. FKA Twigs’ opening verses are then interrupted by extremely high-pitched, digitally-altered chants of “I feel the lightning blast”, and it’s clear that this is going to be the most epic bid on all of Magdalene. Thematically, the song again deals with relationships gone awry – in this case, that feeling of claustrophobia when you sense that someone is restricting your potential: “I never thought that you would be the one to tie me down…but you did.” FKA Twigs went on record confirming as much, stating, “For me, it’s that line, When the lights are on, I know you/When you fall asleep, I’ll kick you down/By the way you fell, I know you/Now you’re on your knees. You’re just so sick of somebody’s bullshit, you’re just taking it all day, and then you’re in bed next to them, and you’re just like, ‘I can’t take this anymore’.” Of course, as per Twigs’ reputation, the song’s motives aren’t overly transparent – so while such meaning can be derived through interpretation, ‘fallen alien’ is, at least from a technical/musical standpoint, an absolute blast.

Read more from this decade at my homepage for Sowing’s Songs of the Decade.