Last weekend, Willow made her Saturday Night Live debut by playing two tracks from her latest solo album, Coping Mechanism.
During the performances of Curious/Furious and Ur a Stranger, Willow was joined by seasoned South Korean session shredder Liso Lee, who doubled up the singer’s custom Ernie Ball Music Man St. Vincent signature with an equally rad Jackson Rhoads electric guitar for the two riff-a-thons.
Ur a Stranger, though, proved to be the most intriguing performance of the pair, not just because it was the first time the Deftones-tinged track had been played live, but because it featured some mysterious lead lines throughout that might leave listeners scratching their heads.
For the most part, Willow and Lee can be seen busying themselves with Ur a Stranger’s pounding progressions for the first minute or so, before a brief breakdown introduces the track’s first lead lines.
However, it doesn’t seem as though the quick-fire licks are emanating from the fretboard of lead player Lee, who turns to face the cabs but whose left hand looks to be continuing its supportive riffing.
A similar situation occurs towards the outro – when Willow unstraps her axe to begin smashing it into an on-stage prop, Lee continues to hold down the low-end riffs while the mysterious lead lines return.
It’s a peculiar situation, not least because Lee – who flexed her chops during a Tiny Desk session with Rico Nasty – is more than capable of replicating the lines that can be heard.
The fact the outro solo doesn’t feature on the studio recording of Ur a Stranger makes things even more confusing. Perhaps Lee, or some other unnamed guitarist, recorded one just for live purposes? Perhaps the logistics of a two-guitar setup meant Lee was duty-bound to continue riffing to maintain momentum while Willow put her instrument through the prop TV?
Still, mystery solos aside, it does nothing to take away from the overall performance, which further highlights the fact that Willow is steadily becoming one of today’s standout young guitar stars.
Her journey started with 2021’s Lately I Feel Everything, which saw Willow ditch her usual R&B and hip-hop direction for a far more guitar-heavy approach – one that has helped thrust pop punk back into the ears of mainstream audiences.
Coping Mechanism, which arrived October 7, is the second installment of Willow’s journey towards guitar stardom. It features decidedly less guest musicians than Lately I Feel Everything, which boasted the likes of Travis Barker, Ayla Tesler-Mabe, Avril Lavigne and more.
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