An emotional excursion of polished punk
Willow Smith, known onstage as WILLOW, released <COPINGMECHANISM> as her latest album on Oct. 7, 2022. Ever since her musical debut in 2011, WILLOW’s style has evolved from experimental pop and R&B to the electronic rock she explores through her new album’s 11 tracks.
“<maybe> it’s my fault” opens the album with enticing guitar riffs, followed by a welcoming drum beat and the ghost of WILLOW’s vocals haunting the track’s background. Once in focus, the warmth of her voice soaks against a backdrop of edgy yet reassuring instrumentals. After some sprinkles of ethereal self-harmonization in the first verse, she roars against the electronically edited vocal suppression, vibrating with distortion as she declares “I don’t know how I can forgive you,” and later “I don’t know if I’m worth forgiving” with the same digitalization. Overall, the song rattles with an emotional and instrumental intensity that exhibits her vibrant vocal range. At its conclusion, electric guitar strings churn like an alarm and usher in the callback of WILLOW’s otherworldly vocals, which then shift seamlessly into gasping shrieks. What starts as a sweet tune about a “nice” girl she met “at a party” twists into a series of agonizing screams, a result that’s rich and unsettling.
WILLOW abruptly faces self-loathing and excruciating apathy in “<Coping Mechanism>” as she belts about crying on the couch and her own mortality. She peppers each verse with oxymorons, repeating the phrase “fun fact” before spilling a heartbreaking one. Musically, the bridge features a dazzling electric guitar solo before returning to a final chorus. In each verse and chorus, the bass melts easily into rhythm with WILLOW’s voice, sometimes quickly descending in note as if to match the song’s thematic lament. Her despair is powerful enough to inspire the album’s title, suggesting this album is the “coping mechanism” she strives for.
WILLOW’s lyrical playfulness in “hover like a GODDESS” is at the song’s center. Measured and spaced out to signal tension, alternating guitar hits trigger WILLOW’s lyrical love letter to the woman she worships. WILLOW toys with desperation in phrases such as “‘Just meet me in the bathroom,’ that’s what she said,” a lyric originally heard in The Strokes’ “Meet Me in the Bathroom,” and potentially a nod to the joke made mainstream by The Office. She also references the five love languages – a psychology concept prominent in pop culture – as she sings about physical affection: “Touch is divine, the language is saying ‘oh, oh.’” In the second verse, she teases an analogical double entendre, singing “You’re like the ocean, coming and going.” The line hints that even if her love interest is there physically, she’s emotionally absent.
The chorus of “hover like a GODDESS” is catchy and contrasts the verses with its lyrical simplicity; while verses brim with sensual analogies, the chorus is direct in purpose, asserting “I’ll never be fine if you won’t be mine” and comparatively leaving less to the imagination. Appearing after the first chorus is a summertime melody of wistful strings and gospel-like vocals layered as a one-woman choir. The strings’ musical phrase later completes the tune, echoed at its end like a sigh. These somewhat brief changes in tone and pace are a sweet reminder that behind her lustful intentions, there’s a halo of love-filled longing.
“Ur a <stranger>” explores the frustration of watching someone’s behavior turn unrecognizable. After rolling in with an undercurrent of clattering machinery, this industrial track features buzzing guitar strums and aggressive drumming in contrast with symphonic violin strings to emphasize WILLOW’s inner battle. At times, the artist sings as a soothing oasis, attempting to appease her alter ego as she revels in pain in scratchy hysteria. Her screams embody rage before shaking with panic, finally yelling “I can’t breathe” against gentle hums of the word “breathe” from her calmer counterpart.
<COPINGMECHANISM> entangles the intensity of punk with the polish of modern pop, provoked by a collection of clever and personal lyrics. Though she experiments more with hard rock than her past work, the words are unmistakably WILLOW. Through <COPINGMECHANISM>, she offers a fresh and emotional perspective on electronic rock, and maybe even a way for listeners to cope with an often distressing world.
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