“Cellophane” — FKA twigs
On the poignant, heart-rending and moving ballad, “Cellophane,” FKA twigs demonstrates her talent as an innovative genre-bender. The track’s backing piano and subtle string instrumentals are minimal, and her breathtakingly raw soprano vocals are at the forefront. The lyrics depict a modern story of unrequited love, with twigs’ voice breaking, wailing and shifting to great heights. She climbs up and down soprano scales with wavering trills and moments of breathy whispers. In the evocative and affecting chorus twigs questions why her subject doesn’t make the same effort in their relationship that she does. “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 sings. In the coinciding music video, FKA twigs performs a stunning and surreal pole dance, complete with vines and flying robots that share her face. Her chilling first verse showcases her honest and vulnerable lyricism. “And I just want to feel you’re there / And I don’t want to have to share our love / I try, but I get overwhelmed / When you’re gone, I have no one to tell,” she sings. twigs’ experimental, avant-pop album, MAGDALENE was released in April to critical acclaim, largely for her piercing lyrics and experimental use of electronic instrumentation. It is her impressive comeback and first LP release since 2015’s M3LL155X.
