Review of FKA Twigs Music Video for Her New Song “Pendulum”

FKA Twigs Music Video for her new song “Pendulum”

By Ranisha Shipp

English musician, FKA Twigs released her debut studio album on August 6th, 2014. The album is called LP1. The song “Pendulum” is track number 5 and it’s both sensual and melancholy. The music video was released last month and I decided to review it. I enjoy her music because of the way she expresses it, it’s different than a lot of things I’ve seen. I think she’s like a young Bjork. The first time I got acquainted with her music was during SXSW of last year. I was doing some research for one of my interviews and I came across her music video for “Water Me.” I instantly fell in love.

The music video for “Pendulum” starts with a close up of her mouth and nose as she begins singing. It’s not a bad start, I think. After a bit, we get a full body shot. It is here that we see that she is tied up and suspended over a gray jello-like substance by her own hair. She spends most of the video like this as the camera shoots her from different angles. When I first watched the video, I thought this was just a little bit strange (still loved it) but I’m starting to think about it and I realize it goes along with the song.
“Pendulum” is about a girl trying to get her lover to stay. The way that she is strung up for most of the video might be a metaphor for how she’s stuck in her feelings for her love. As for the rope being her hair, she’s obviously wrapped up in her own feelings. By the end of the music video, she’s free from her bound. The video ends with that shot of her dancing with her hair flowing free. I think this symbolizes her giving up on him and deciding to move on with her life. I enjoy FKA Twigs and her strange but enchanting music videos. I feel like she is an artist with something to say and I hope to see more from her.

Here’s the link for the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8yix8PZKlw