We Are The Willows – “Forgiveness / Forgetfulness” [Song Review]

Minneapolis-based art pop band We Are The Willows recently released their new single/music video, “Forgiveness / Forgetfulness,” a track from their explorative upcoming long-player, IV. The album’s title, a double entendre, refers to the project being the band’s fourth LP and is shorthand for Inside Voice, the side project of We Are The Willows’ Peter Miller and cellist Hillary James.

We Are The Willows is the project of singer/songwriter Peter Miller, creatively known as Peter M., whose unique countertenor voice is often supported by Jeremiah Satterthwaite on guitar, Travis Collins on bass and backup vocals, Hilary James on cello and backup vocals, and Josh McCay on drums.

The band has been around since 2014 and has received acclaim from many elite media outlets and has shared the stage with Blitzen Trapper, S. Carey, Phox, and Matt Pond PA across showcases at SXSW, Treefort Festival, and Milwaukee’s SummerFest. In 2016, We Are The Willows released their two-part, twenty-track concept album, Picture (Portrait), based on letters written between Miller’s grandparents during World War II.

“Forgiveness / Forgetness” opens on slightly discordant tones topped by Miller’s dynamic countertenor, a potent, falsetto-like voice that imbues the lyrics with deliciously edgy surfaces. Rippling, sparkling textures infuse the melody with cinematic twangs and plucking hues drenched in complex, almost frenetic surfaces that ebb and rise with strangely alluring intensity.

We Are The Willows in 2024, photo by Landon Harryman

Totally unique yet remarkably captivating, with “Forgiveness / Forgetness,” We Are The Willows parade the magic of art-pop.

Run Time: 2:57
Release Date: July 11, 2024
Record Label: Youngbloods