FKA Twigs recently released a music video for her track “Glass & Patron” earlier this past week for the YouTube Music Awards (YTMAs). I will start this review by stating something that I found to be overtly obvious – this song and more importantly this video are not for every viewer. This alternative music video and track take an extremely artistic standpoint that may not sit well with every viewer. I personally found myself left with both negative and positive sentiments towards this music video after the screen went black.
This song is enigmatically enchanting in my own opinion. The dark imagery paired with Twigs's lustful voice evokes a mysterious yet endearing quality that I particularly enjoyed. I have heard mixed reviews of this music video and track simply because music is and forever will be a subjective art. But I want to reiterate that even if you view this music video or track negatively, it is art nonetheless.
I will admit that at first I found this video to be a little ostentatiously overwhelming, but I recognized that there are numerous positive things that come from this music video. Firstly, it is rather refreshing to see an artist truly stick with her own artistic views even if they may be misconstrued by the general public. Secondly, I have to say that Twigs and her dancers were quite fantastic with their choreography, and I certainly enjoyed that aspect.
On the other hand, I feel as though her music video may have been a touch too busy in the sense that it seemed to distract you from the track itself. This may have been her intended goal as she did direct this video, but I felt like sometimes I was too distracted by the avant-garde tendencies of the video to truly listen to her lyrics. But ultimately who am I to dissect and critique another individual's artistic vision without fully understanding her intentions while directing the music video.
“Glass and Patron” has an ethereal sound to it that ultimately lead to my auditory entrancement, but my first viewing of her music video basically left me with a sense of confounded befuddlement diluted with just a modicum of “What the hell did I just watch?” But after watching the video a few more times I looked beyond the overtly avant-garde persona, and I started to actually enjoy it for what it was – an artistically charged video which transfuses dark, frenetic art with a truly mystifying song.
Ultimately, I am glad that I was introduced to this song, artist, and music video by a friend of mine Courtney who is truly appreciative of the potentially veiled beauty within this music video and song. At first I was skeptical of the track when he played it, but I certainly found myself humming the lyrics long after the video ended. I look forward to hearing more of Twigs's musical stylings and to see where her career goes because I truly can see that she is a talented visionary with an artistically idiosyncratic flair.
While I don't think you will be finding this song playing on every popular radio station, I do believe that this song and music video have a strong and rightful place in the hearts and music libraries of an individual appreciative of art that may not particularly suit every listener. If you are a proponent of avant-garde musical styling, dark art (not the Harry Potter kind), impressive dancing, or vogue-ing, then I certainly think “Glass & Patron” and FKA Twigs may just fit within your musical arsenal.
Brian is an English and Professional Writing major at East Stroudsburg University. In his spare time, he likes to buy 5 books for every 1 book he has time to read. His favorite novels include And Then There Were None, Savages, Better, The Martian Chronicles, and The Kings of Cool. Brian hopes to pursue a job in editing upon graduation.
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