Caprisongs

"You are experiencing the most powerful transit right now," an astrologer tells FKA twigs near the end of Caprisongs, a mixtape named for her sun sign and the time of year when it was released. Its understandable that Tahliah Barnett would want to try new approaches. Her second album, 2019s Magdalene, was so cathartic that it felt like the closing of a chapter in her life and music. On Caprisongs, she sounds much more spontaneous and fun -- qualities that Magdalene, for all its brilliance, had in short supply. Barnett takes full advantage of the freedom of the mixtape format, packing it full of songs, interludes, and cameos. Chief among them is the Weeknd, whose appearance on the supple R&B-leaning single "Tears in the Club" is as big a cosign as she could wish for. Not that she needs it -- when she sings "I wanna get you out of my hips," she dominates the track. Shes just as in control of her desires on "Papi Bones," a dancehall-tinged collab with Shygirl, and "Honda," a kinetic track featuring Pa Salieu that incorporates rap in a way that harks back to LP1. Though Caprisongs nods to more mainstream sounds than her previous work, Barnett can still make any trend or genre her own. When she brings her musics hyperpop leanings to the fore with "Pamplemousse"s nimble beats and vocals or adopts weightless R&B on the Daniel Caesar duet "Careless," it feels more like shes connecting to the outside world than bandwagon-jumping. Barnett does this with particular grace on "Darjeeling," which finds her sharing verses with Jorja Smith and Unknown T and interpolating Olives trip-hop smash "Youre Not Alone." It wouldnt be an FKA twigs release without some beautifully bittersweet ballads, but while "Meta Angel" and "Lightbeamers" both deliver on that front, they also sound like cocoons from which shes ready to emerge. The way Barnett shares tracks and experiences on Caprisongs makes it a more diffuse listening experience than her past releases, but it also brings a galvanizing openness to her music -- and suggests pain doesnt have to be her only muse. ~ Heather Phares