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Coping Mechanism (album)

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Coping Mechanism
Studio album by
Willow
ReleasedOctober 7, 2022 (2022-10-07)
Genre
Length29:14
Label
ProducerChris Greatti
Willow chronology
Lately I Feel Everything
(2021) 		Coping Mechanism
(2022) 		Empathogen
(2024)
Singles from Coping Mechanism
  1. "Maybe It's My Fault"
    Released: June 24, 2022
  2. "Hover Like a Goddess"
    Released: August 5, 2022
  3. "Curious/Furious"
    Released: September 9, 2022
  4. "Split"
    Released: October 3, 2022
  5. "Ur a Stranger"
    Released: October 7, 2022

Coping Mechanism (stylized as <COPINGMECHANISM>) is the fifth studio album by American singer Willow. It was released on October 7, 2022, through MSFTS Music and Roc Nation. The album was preceded by a slew of singles, including "Maybe It's My Fault", "Hover Like a Goddess", "Curious/Furious", and "Split".

Release and promotion

[edit]

Willow released the song "Maybe It's My Fault" on June 24, 2022.[1] It was reported to be the lead single from Coping Mechanism, which at the time was unnamed and scheduled to be released in the summer.[2] A music video accompanied the song's release, which was directed by Dana Trippe.[3][4] Willow released the second single, "Hover Like a Goddess" on August 4.[5] A music video directed by Jaxon Whittington was released with the song.[6] The following day, Coping Mechanism was announced.[7] It was scheduled for release on September 23.[8] Willow released "Curious/Furious" and its video on September 9.[9][10] The song serves as the album's third single.[11] After the single's release, Coping Mechanism was rescheduled. The album's new release date was set as October 7.[12] On October 3, Willow released "Split" as the album's fourth single.[13][14] Coping Mechanism was released on October 7, through Roc Nation and MSFTSMusic.[15] The following day, Willow performed two tracks on the album, "Ur a Stranger" and "Curious/Furious" on Saturday Night Live.[16]

Composition

[edit]

Coping Mechanism is a pop punk,[17] emo,[18] grunge rock,[19] and hard rock[20] album with elements of metal,[21] post-hardcore,[22] gothic rock,[21] ska punk,[21] indie rock,[23] screamo,[21] guitar pop,[22] R&B,[24] and "avant-garde electro".[21]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[25]
Metacritic82/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
DIY[22]
Evening Standard[17]
Exclaim!7/10[24]
Gigwise[27]
The Guardian[21]
Kerrang!4/5[23]
MusicOMH[18]
NME[15]
Pitchfork6.7/10[20]
The Telegraph[19]

Coping Mechanism received acclaim upon release, with Metacritic awarding the album 82/100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Alexis Petridis of The Guardian said that Coping Mechanism "sounds confident", and called it the work of an artist who knows their sound is popular at the moment. Petridis said the album was his favorite of the week.[21] Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone called Coping Mechanism a must-hear album. She commented that Willow's artistic ambition was matched in the record's quality.[28] Kyann-Sian Williams for NME said that Willow adds "a new level of maturity" to her songs and you can tell that Willow is using her own influences "to make her own seminal sound."

Concluding the review for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung called the album a, "head-spinning journey is a thrill to experience and, clocking in at less than a half hour, fit for repeat listens." and claimed that, "While much of Willow's charm lies in the way she can switch genres with ease, Coping Mechanism is so engaging that it'd be nice for her to stick to this sound for at least one more album before continuing her ever-riveting evolution."[29]

Track listing

[edit]
Track listing for Coping Mechanism
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Maybe It's My Fault"
  • Willow
  • Chris Greatti
  • Asher Bank
2:42
2."Falling Endlessly"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
  • Bank
2:54
3."Curious/Furious"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
3:04
4."Why?"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
  • Bank
2:58
5."Coping Mechanism"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
2:45
6."Split"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
  • Bank
3:21
7."Hover Like a Goddess"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
2:23
8."Ur a Stranger"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
2:05
9."Perfectly Not Close to Me" (with Yves Tumor)
  • Willow
  • Greatti
  • Yves Tumor
1:52
10."No Control"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
2:48
11."Batshit!"
  • Willow
  • Greatti
  • Bank
  • Liam Hall
2:22
Total length:29:14

Notes

  • "Maybe It's My Fault" is stylized as "<maybe> it's my fault"
  • "Curious/Furious" is stylized in lowercase
  • "Why?" and "Batshit!" are stylized in all caps
  • "Coping Mechanism" is stylized as "<Coping Mechanism>"
  • "Hover Like a Goddess" is stylized as "hover like a GODDESS"
  • "Ur a Stranger" is stylized as "ur a <stranger>"
  • On some digital platforms, the clean version of "Batshit!" is simply titled "Track 11"

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

  • Willow – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 3–11)
  • Chris Greatti – guitar (all tracks), bass guitar (1–5, 7–9), drums (3, 9), percussion (3), background vocals (4)
  • Asher Bank – drums (1, 2, 4–8, 10, 11)
  • Ryan Wheeler – bass guitar (6, 10)
  • Yves Tumor – background vocals (9)
  • Zach Tenorio – Mellotron, piano (10)
  • Liam Hall – organ (10); Mellotron, programming, synthesizer (11)
  • Brad Bowers – bass guitar (11)

Technical

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Coping Mechanism
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Hitseekers Albums (ARIA)[30] 14

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Trapp, Philip (June 24, 2022). "Willow's New Song 'Maybe It's My Fault' Has a Wicked Metalcore Breakdown". Loudwire. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  2. ^ Kenneally, Cerys. "Willow shares new single 'Maybe It's My Fault'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  3. ^ Rowley, Glenn (June 24, 2022). "WILLOW releases new single 'Maybe It's My Fault': Stream". Consequence. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  4. ^ Mier, Tomás (June 24, 2022). "Willow Offers Trippy Visuals as She Wonders, 'Maybe It's My Fault'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  5. ^ Newstead, Al (August 5, 2022). "Willow shares 'Hover Like a Goddess', announces new album 'Coping Mechanism'". Triple J. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (August 5, 2022). "Willow Shares New Song 'Hover Like a Goddess': Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  7. ^ Segall, Dora (August 5, 2022). "Willow Releases Blazing Video for 'Hover like a Goddess,' Announces New Album". Spin. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  8. ^ Wang, Steffanee (August 4, 2022). "Willow Announces New Album 'Coping Mechanism'". Nylon. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  9. ^ B. Kile, Meredith (September 9, 2022). "New Music Releases September 9: Lewis Capaldi, Ari Lennox, Kelly Clarkson, Dolly Parton and More!". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  10. ^ Mursalin, Rhea (September 10, 2022). "Willow Debuts New Song & Video 'Curious/Furious'". Mxdwn. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  11. ^ Helphand, Raphael. "Willow shares new song 'Curious/Furious'". The Fader. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Schube, Will (September 20, 2022). "Willow Unveils Album Release Date And Tracklist, Announces 'SNL' Performance". uDiscover Music. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  13. ^ Scarlett, Liz (October 4, 2022). "Willow shares love for Deftones and Lamb Of God, says metal has been gatekept by old white men for too long". Louder Sound. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  14. ^ Rowley, Glenn (October 3, 2022). "Willow Teases Second 'SNL' Appearance in a Year: 'S——g My Pants Slightly'". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Williams, Kyann-Sian (October 7, 2022). "Willow – 'CopingMechanism' review: boundary-pushing star finesses her sound". NME. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  16. ^ Shutler, Ali (October 9, 2022). "Watch Willow deliver a punishing two-song set on 'SNL'". NME. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Smyth, David (October 6, 2022). "Willow - Coping Mechanism review: Pop punk might just be her calling". Evening Standard. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Willow – Coping Mechanism". Kerrang!. October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  19. ^ a b Raza-Sheikh, Zoya (October 7, 2022). "Paul Heaton lacks imagination, The Cult have flashes of greatness – the week's best albums". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Haile, Heven (October 13, 2022). "Willow – Coping Mechanism". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g Petridis, Alexis (October 6, 2022). "Willow: Coping Mechanism review | Alexis Petridis's album of the week". The Guardian. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  22. ^ a b c "Willow, Coping Mechanism - Review". DIY. September 23, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Album review: Willow – Coping Mechanism". Kerrang!. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Ciubotaru, Noah (October 6, 2022). "Willow Breaks Through on 'CopingMechanism'". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  25. ^ "CopingMechanism by Willow reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  26. ^ Coping Mechanism by Willow, Metacritic, retrieved October 28, 2022
  27. ^ "Album Review: Willow - Coping Mechanism". Gigwise. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  28. ^ Johnston, Maura (October 4, 2022). "Willow Thrillingly Mashes Up Rock History On 'Coping Mechanism'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  29. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. (October 7, 2022). "Willow - 'Coping Mechanism' Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  30. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 17 October 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1702. Australian Recording Industry Association. October 17, 2022. p. 24.
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