WILLOW - “COPINGMECHANISM” Album Review
Confident, detailed, spiritual, and skilled are the words that come to mind when thinking of WILLOW’s strengths as a musician.
With a combination of privilege, resources, and strong personal narrative, WILLOW had a set of circumstances that were bound to impress audiences from her earliest experimental albums to her current focus on a pop punk sound.
In her sixth and latest album “<COPINGMECHANISM>,” WILLOW displays a maturity that had yet to be found in her earlier works.
Unlike past albums, “<COPINGMECHANISM>” offers a complete thematic and musical vision.
In collaboration with musician and guitarist Chris Greatti, WILLOW created an edgy, queer breakup album that could give Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” a run for its money.
Despite the artist yielding hits from her fourth and fifth studio albums, WILLOW’s transition into pop punk away from neosoul with “THE ANXIETY” and “lately i feel EVERYTHING” was nothing less than rocky.
“THE ANXIETY,” made in collaboration with Tyler Cole, predicated a string of mediocre collaborations to frequent WILLOW’s releases. WILLOW is a singer and writer first.
A dabble into blown out audio and imitations of sincerity compromised both her vocal prowess and point of view. This trend continued into “lately i feel EVERYTHING” to a lesser extent.
“lately i feel EVERYTHING” introduced more advanced musicality, but WILLOW’s musical identity was sporadic and inconsistent. Personal identity and intangibility have always been big themes in her albums.
She is a child star from a famous family desperate to ground herself in spiritual contemplation and her relationships with others. “<COPINGMECHANISM>” shies away from interrogation and intangibility to formulate a relatable, down to earth and gritty production.
All stages of grief present themselves as WILLOW reflects on the demise of a previous relationship. Lyrically, she is very literal in this album.
Across each song, the listener can piece together that this relationship presented is toxic, and WILLOW plays a disillusioned character who keeps pushing concern away out of a fear of loneliness.
Cleverly, she peppers in moments of clarity of her situation during the climaxes of her song. Here is where neosoul reference is noted. Her vocals become smooth and rooted as she shows off her large vocal range.
Eastern influence in her runs peak interest before the singer dives yet again into raspy screams- screams that leave much to be desired
Other than WILLOW’s vocals, an electric guitar takes center stage in all songs. The guitar's timbre does not vary much, keeping a nasally quality. Distinctively pop punk, the riffs and guitar solos are so referencial they end up feeling a tad too contrived.
The bassline and drumming is solid but forgetable. Beyond the individual instruments’ merits, the mixing and production is well done and much improved.
Honestly, the biggest problem with this album is that its relatability makes it too generalized. WILLOW’s life, career and relationship circumstances are very different from most people.
If she leaned into her truth and actuality a bit more, the perspective and quality would make for an raw and intriguing insight.
WILLOW's penchant for conceptual thinking omits details that some believe could take these catchy songs from Olivia Rodrigo meets Avril Lavigne to a class of their own.
Personally, WILLOW’s album “The 1st” contained some of my most listened to songs in 2017. Those who have been following her closely since that point, and my expectations for this album were high.
Although many might immensely enjoy this album, WILLOW still has more potential for growth.
When WILLOW chooses to ground herself in her own reality instead of a patchwork of other realities, the listener can feel that emotion sold by her ever powerful voice.
Hopefully WILLOW will decide to explore other themes in the future.
Those who do listen to this album, to listen while in a heightened period of anger or sadness; those are the circumstances in which it will likely be best enjoyed.
Rating: 7/10
Reviewer’s Favorite Songs: “<Coping Mechanism>”, “Split”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Songs: “WHY?”
Eliza Casey is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email egc5236@psu.edu.
