Don’t expect to relax into EUSEXUA Afterglow, the companion record to FKA twigs’ highly acclaimed January 2025 release EUSEXUA. Despite the soft connotations of the title, …Afterglow is perhaps even more intense and experimental than its predecessor, and undoubtedly hits just as hard. From the bone-rattling industrial boom of “Love Crimes” through to “Stereo Boy,” with its squelching, futuristic synths and detached, floating vocals, twigs crafts an otherworldly sonic experience that explores the erotic thrill of falling in love with life itself. Themes of freedom, pleasure and maximizing every moment recur—Wwhether it’s “Slushy” playing out like a dreamy reading of twigs’ gratitude journal, the slow, syrupy hip-hop beats of “Cheap Hotel” (co-written with enigmatic production outfit Two Shell), or “Piece of Mine,” beginning with glitchy beats and whispering tones before evolving into smooth, seductive R&B. In anchoring the innovation with shrewd pop sensibilities—see also: garage-influenced PinkPantheress collaboration “Wild and Alone” and “HARD,” a raunchy dance cut that invokes echoes of Janet Jackson—twigs strikes the perfect balance between her underground roots and her well-measured transition into the mainstream. “Sushi,” five-and-a-half minutes of thumping groove and an earworm chorus which sees twigs narrate a week-long date (dancing! Paris! Pilates!), is perhaps the best example of her ability to straddle the line between both worlds—a clear standout with limitless replay value.