Have you ever been listening to a band or artist and thought to yourself, “I wish I knew this guy sooner?” Your chance at redemption is now and the artist is promising! Natalie Wu, or Wisp, a 19-year-old hailing from San Francisco, is an independent shoegaze artist who has fans flocking to her like moths to street lights. Taking inspiration from artists like Whirr, Wisp produces a dreamy and illusive sound, falling neatly into the shoegaze, melancholic alt rock genre. Her illustrious vocals compliment a morbid set of instruments that mesh together to make a one of a kind sound.
Take “Your Face,” her most popular song, for example. Slow, breathy guitars and hard drums accompany her poetic, love-letter lyrics like, “You look at me the same / But I can’t reciprocate / Fragrant air.” She speaks from her own bad experiences, and she spins them into beautiful lyrics. “Is this all real? / You’re stuck in my head / drawing, falling into you.” She feels trapped by herself, her thoughts clouding her head. When she sees their face, she can’t help but think about what could’ve been. Her vocal style sounds as though you are floating in a pond in a foggy forest, which, according to an interview with Pigeons & Planes, is exactly what she wants. “I want my music to sound like being underwater… I want it to be an experience, immersive, and hard hitting.” If you are even remotely a fan of shoegaze, Wisp has the potential to become one of your new favorite artists.
As of right now, Wisp has a very small released discography, with her Spotify only having three songs. But with such a small discography, she has already staked herself as a shoegaze icon, and has a large fanbase watching her. She has teased more music through her social media, and as of recently she’s played a few shows in California. This year, she’s going on tour and opening for the artist Pachinko. In an interview with Nylon, Wisp said, “I am hoping to meet as many new people as possible, and practice singing and my guitar skills A LOT!”
Graphics by Natalie Uhl