The 1st

Album review

While her debut Ardipithecus was a strong evolution from her manufactured "Whip My Hair" days, Willow's sophomore full-length is an unexpected and revelatory maturation. No longer a Lorde-meets-Janelle Monae pastiche of alt-pop sounds, The 1st channels the best of what the '90s wave of powerful female singer/songwriters had to offer, bringing a raw power and organic energy to Willow's insights. The 1st is a snapshot of a confident young woman coming into her own and grappling with the nuances of life and love with honesty, wit, and admirable poetic lyricism. Opener "Boy" hits the restart button, introducing the new Willow with plucked strings and messy teenage emotions. There's a journal-entry quality to lines like "Hey God, are you there? I need to talk" and "Hey mom, I met a boy/He's super sad/But I think I love him/Is that bad?" but they end up being more endearing than overwrought, adding a lot of charm to much of the album. When she digs deep on "Human Leech," the seething is palpable and almost grunge-like, a faint ode to her mother Jada Pinkett-Smith's time with her band Wicked Wisdom. On the cool and sensual "Warm Honey," Willow bridges the gap between Corinne Bailey Rae and early Fiona Apple, while on the lush "And Contentment," she absorbs Alanis Morissette's intensity and cadence to such an extent that delivering words like "experience" sound strikingly similar to the Canadian alternative icon. Spiritual explorations like "Ho'ihi Interlude" and the tribal "Oh No!!!" find Willow wandering in directions outside of her usual zone. Elsewhere, hints of Erykah Badu, Beyonce, and both Tracy Bonham and Chapman bubble up. With these myriad influences, The 1st sounds like a best-of Lilith Fair compilation for 2017. Willow shows much promise in the process of finding her voice and stoking the fire within, a young mind hungry in its pursuit of pure artistry.

© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo