Empathogen, by Willow Smith

I think this album deserves to be in the prog adjacent genre. Some of her earlier stuff is good, but this is a genius album in my opinion and definitely proggy/jazzy. I am still in awe of how such a masterpiece is possible in 2024 (and given where it comes from).

An interesting and left-field proposition; I haven't heard this yet, but prog from unexpected corners can sometimes yield pleasant surprises.

I see the excellent Babyblaue-seiten.de saw fit to review her - and they gave her newest a perfect score! Via Google translate, this is her bio:

"Willow Smith (* 2000), daughter of Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, pursued a professional singing career as a child and first entered the pop spotlight at the age of 9 with her single "Whip My Hair." Between 2015 and 2024, she released a total of six stylistically diverse solo albums, one band album ("The Anxiety"), and several EPs."

And a translation of Empathogen:

"I discovered Willow's "Empathogen" in the spring of 2024 through the [progrock-dt] community. And on the English Wikipedia, the album is categorized as "progressive rock" (along with jazz). I'll just say this upfront, so no one thinks I'm completely out of line here.

The album's DNA, however, can't be captured by either jazz or prog. Rick Beato says of the single "Symptom Of Life" that it's music of the future. And he says that because it's not only magnificent, but also new. Truly new.

On her first five solo albums, Willow already demonstrated her penchant for dissolving rigid categories, drawing artistically from pop, soul, (hard) rock, grunge, punk, R&B, indie, nu metal, and probably many other splinter genres. "Empathogen" combines pop, rock, funk, soul, and jazz in an unprecedentedly original and strikingly harmonious way. The fact that Willow's most ambitious and mature work to date is also associated with prog is likely due in no small part to the rhythms of some of the songs. Both the aforementioned "Symptom Of Life" and the closing "Bigfeelings" boast spectacular 7/4 grooves, in which the special nature of the beat interplays with rather poppy, yet very idiosyncratically constructed melodies and unusual chord structures. In the verses of the seemingly more inconspicuous “Ancient Girl”, a 7/4 also appears at first, but the following hookline takes it up a notch with a whole series of changing time signatures, without this seeming at all constructed.

Rarely, if ever, have I heard such dense songwriting, reduced to its musical essence: There's nothing expansive, contemplative, or ornamental, inviting one to linger. And certainly nothing redundant or superfluous. Everything is concise and straightforward, getting straight to the point. This artistic principle is particularly evident in song miniatures ("Down," "'I Know That Face'.") and even experimental, fragmentary material ("No Words 1 & 2"). This is accompanied by arrangements that are devoid of any frills and are eminently transparent. Overall, there's something fascinatingly concentrated and purist about the whole thing.

That doesn't mean the music doesn't blossom in artistic detail. "Empathogen" is highly emotional, intelligent, and full of subtle ideas – starting with Willow's extraordinarily imaginative and daring vocals, whose uncompromisingly direct expression is grounded in a simply remarkable vocal brilliance and undoubtedly belongs at the very top of BBS's list. If you want to hear (and see!) how the woman is capable of performing live, check out the sensational Tiny Desk Concert and the outstanding performance of the album opener "Home" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

Although Willow's sixth album, despite all its rhythmic variability, has hardly any real roots in traditional prog, its stylistic independence and uniqueness are so clearly audible that it must be considered an artistic step into new territory and thus, in the literal sense, progressive. Given its dominant musical idiom, I personally tend to label it as neo-progressive pop music. Much more importantly, however, is that "Empathogen" is both a unique and sophisticated album in every respect."