Pendulum (song)

"Pendulum"
Single by FKA Twigs
from the album LP1
A-side"Two Weeks"
Released29 July 2014 (2014-07-29)
Recorded2014
Genre
Length4:58
LabelYoung Turks
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Paul Epworth
  • FKA Twigs
FKA Twigs singles chronology
"Two Weeks"
(2014)
"Pendulum"
(2014)
"Video Girl"
(2014)
Music video
"Pendulum" on YouTube

"Pendulum" is a song by English singer FKA Twigs from her debut studio album, LP1 (2014). The song was released digitally on 30 July 2014 as the album's second single. It was also released on 12-inch vinyl the day before, serving as the B-side to "Two Weeks". "Pendulum" premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show on 29 July 2014.[1] Upon its premiere, Twigs referred to the track as "one of my favourite songs on my record."[2]

Critical reception

[edit]

Upon its release, "Pendulum" received acclaim from music critics, who noted its complex production and Twigs's vocals. Patric Fallon of Pitchfork selected it as "Best New Track", writing that "[n]ot since last year's bewitching 'Water Me' [...] has the London singer released a single as dedicated to nuance and will-o'-the-wisp sublimity as [...] 'Pendulum'." However, Fallon also noted the differences between the two tracks, stating: "Where 'Water Me' and 'Pendulum' diverge in their style and substance is in the latter's resounding chorus and bridge, when the music's detached and capricious elements finally converge into a hook that plays like a hymn to the patron saint of melancholic desire."[3]

Brenna Ehrlich of MTV News called the track "a spare kind of thing hung with pattering drums—laid over a deeper, thrumming heartbeat—and laced with her ethereal, overlapping vocals."[4] Chris Coplan of Consequence of Sound was also laudatory, commenting: "Even as the somewhat jarring sounds threaten to consume every drop of your attention, it's damn near impossible to avoid the emotional spell Twigs weaves with each and every revelatory note."[1]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Pendulum" was directed by FKA Twigs herself and premiered on 14 January 2015.[5] A photo from the video set was first released on 29 July 2014, which depicts FKA Twigs hanging from the ceiling by her hair.[6] A second photo from the set was posted to FKA Twigs' Instagram page on 6 October 2014.[7] The video won a MOBO Award for Best Video on 4 November 2015,[8] while earning FKA Twigs a nomination for Artist to Watch at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.[9]

Track listings

[edit]
  • Digital download[10]
  1. "Pendulum" – 4:58
  • Limited edition 12" single[11]
A. "Two Weeks" – 4:08
B. "Pendulum" – 4:58

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of LP1.[12]

  • FKA Twigs – vocals, drums, keyboards, production, songwriting
  • Cy An – additional drum edits, keyboards
  • John Davis – mastering
  • Paul Epworth – drums, guitar, keyboards, piano, production, songwriting
  • Joseph Hartwell Jones – engineering

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United Kingdom 29 July 2014 12" single Young Turks [11]
30 July 2014 Digital download [10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Coplan, Chris (29 July 2014). "Listen: FKA Twigs' new song "Pendulum"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  2. ^ FKA Twigs (29 July 2014). "proud to share pendulum with..." Twitter. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  3. ^ Fallon, Patric (30 July 2014). "FKA twigs: "Pendulum"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  4. ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (30 July 2014). "FKA Twigs Gets Soft And Mournful On 'Pendulum'". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  5. ^ Minsker, Evan (14 January 2015). "FKA twigs Gets Tied Up in "Pendulum" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  6. ^ Beauchemin, Molly (29 July 2014). "FKA twigs Shares New Song "Pendulum"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  7. ^ "skins". Instagram. 6 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  8. ^ Camp, Zoe (4 November 2015). "FKA twigs Performs "Figure 8" and "In Time" at MOBO Awards". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  9. ^ Huerta, Heidi (30 August 2015). "2015 MTV VMAs: See The Full Winners List". MTV News. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Pendulum (2014) | FKA twigs". 7digital (UK). Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  11. ^ a b "YT123 – FKA twigs – Two Weeks / Pendulum". Young Turks. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  12. ^ LP1 (CD liner notes). FKA Twigs. Young Turks. 2014. YTCD118.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)