Best new music: WILLOW invites you to put your ‘ear to the cocoon’

Every week, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries live on 88Nine at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.

WILLOW has always put 110% of her musing energies into her art. She doesn’t just build a space with her heart and soul; her mind is part of the ride, too. On her latest and seventh album, petal rock black, she continues a journey of soul-searching by exploring themes of forgiveness and letting go.

The sonic tapestry for this newest one hits just right, with touchpoints of Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding and Fiona Apple popping from WILLOW’s own musical voice. Always the collaborator, she tempers and bolsters her own journey by welcoming elements from her guests, including George Clinton, Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs and Kamasi Washington.

My fave track is “ear to the cocoon,” which feels like it encapsulates the full record’s trajectory. Before its release, WILLOW shared that she played guitar, piano and drums during the making of the album, and that it took more than 18 months of work in the studio to complete. “We need that kind of pressurized experience in order to touch new places inside of ourselves,” she shared.

Find petal rock black out now on THREE SIX ZERO Recordings and “ear to the cocoon” on this episode of What’s All This, available via the player at the top of the page.

Best new indie music this week

• Spencer Krug, “I’ll Believe in Anything” (2026 solo piano version)
• Dev Lemons, “Maybe I’m the Reason”
• Liz Cooper, “Better Than Ever”
• Sure Sure, “Internet”
• spill tab, “Roamer”
• Benny Sings, “Real Person (ft. Elijah Fox)”
• SZA, “Save the Day”
• WILLOW, “ear to the cocoon”
• Konradsen, “What I Aim For (ft. Angie McMahon)”
• Hrishikesh Hirway, “Stray Dogs (ft. Iron & Wine)”
• Damon Albarn, Grian Chatten, Kae Tempest, “Flags”
• Cola, “Hedgesitting”