Willow has offered up another preview of her forthcoming fifth studio album Coping Mechanism, set for release on September 23, with the project’s third single “Curious/Furious.”
Produced by Chirs Greatti, “Curious/Furious” finds Willow tapping back into more conventional pop roots, but doing so while maintaining the flare of her alternative edge. The track explores feelings of physical and mental isolation as the singer and songwriter reflects on the solitary experience of moving through the world, uncertain of what comes next.
“And I’m taking this adventure on my own / Walking through a darkened forest, going home / Curious, furious, I feel alone,” she sings ahead of a whirlwind chorus.
The new single follows previously shared offerings “Hover Like A Goddess” and “<Maybe> It’s My Fault,” all three of which were helmed by Greatti with Willow as co-producer.
Willow has described Coping Mechanism as being her most vulnerable and personal project to date, while also continuing the exploration of the sonic landscape she recently turned to as a means of expressing her emotions most authentically.
In a recent interview with Billboard, the artist shared: “I wanted to go for rock. I didn’t want to go for pop punk. I didn’t want to go for what’s necessarily popular right now. I wanted to go for the heart of rock music, which to me is a deep outcry — maybe about pain, maybe about joy.”
Coping Mechanism comes in at 11 songs and was largely inspired by Willow’s self-reflections following her first major romantic heartbreak. In a way, the record worked as a roadmap to deeper internal understanding.
“I’m going to use this [album] as a way to express myself and, hopefully, allow other people to feel the deepest parts of me,” Willow added. “I want my life to be driven by love and where my heart wants to take me.”