WILLOW's recently-released Travis Barker collaboration "t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l" is one of the best and most prominent songs within the current mainstream pop punk revival, and her new album lately I feel EVERYTHING proves it's no fluke.
Though she got famous as a 10-year-old with a pop-rap hit, rock and pop punk and emo were Willow's first loves, and after exploring that side of her with her 2020 project The Anxiety (with producer/partner Tyler Cole), lately I feel EVERYTHING feels like the moment that she fully finds her own sound. "t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l" is one of two Travis Barker collabs on the album, the other being "Grow" (a duet with Avril Lavigne that brings to mind the best of Avril's pop punk-adjacent era), but Willow doesn't rely on Y2K era pop punk stars.
"Gaslight," which doesn't feature any big-name guests, is one of the album's most addictive pop punk rippers. There's also much more to lately I feel EVERYTHING than just pop punk. "Lipstick" and "Come Home" embrace '90s grunge and alt-rock, while "Don't Save Me," "Naive," and "Forever" channels a more atmospheric dream pop vibe (Willow cites Mazzy Star as an influence too). And lately's guests aren't limited to Willow's formative influences. She's also got garage punks Cherry Glazerr and art-rap trailblazer Tierra Whack bringing their styles to "Breakout" and "Xtra," respectively (plus an interpolation of Kanye West's "Power" on the song with Cherry Glazerr).
At 10 proper songs and one short interlude, it's a brief album, but its scope is wide and it really gives you a feel for who Willow is an artist, outside of whatever boxes people have tried to put her in in the past. - Andrew Sacher
tracklist
1. “t r a n s p a r e n t s o u l” (feat. Travis Barker)
2. “FUCK You”
3. “Gaslight” (feat. Travis Barker)
4. “don’t SAVE ME”
5. “naïve”
6. “Lipstick”
7. “Come Home” (feat. Ayla Tesler-Mabe)
8. “4ever”
9. “XTRA” (feat. Tierra Whack)
10. “G R O W” (feat. Avril Lavigne and Travis Barker)
11. “¡BREAKOUT!” (feat. Cherry Glazerr)
