If It's Too Loud...

Photo by Elinor Kry Of all of the songs we've brought you from Wisp, "Breathe onto me" might be the most traditional shoegaze one so far. The song has that intense wall of fuzz that washes over you, and the guitar solos whine in that certain way only shoegaze can. Plus, Wisp's vocals have that droning and slightly detached sound the genre requires. However, this is still a Wisp song, so the guitars, although incredibly shoegaze, also have that slight metal edge to them, and there is something just a little poppy in her vocals. There's a lot of newer shoegaze bands out there today, all with varying styles and subgenres, but if anyone is going to finally break the style fully into the mainstream, it's going to be Wisp. Wisp says of her latest single: "'Breathe onto me' is a fun play on affection, touch, and love on the surface. It's about the simplicity of physical relationships and how they can totter between innocent and lustful." You can...

Photo by Elinor Kry Wisp is one of the more interesting artists out there today. She's a shoegaze artist that injects a surprising amount of pop into her sound, but is also heavy enough to play with artists like System of a Down, Korn, and Avenged Sevenfold. Her latest single, "Save me now," might be one of her most pop based songs yet, but it also might be the heaviest. Her vocals are pure pop, or at the very least pure dream pop. But the guitars are crunchy and heavy, leaning deeply towards the world of grunge. It creates this unique blend of shoegaze, dream pop, grunge, and pop into a sound unlike anyone else out there today.  Wisp says of her latest single: '"Save me now'  represents the desperation for attention, sometimes mistaken as love, when you are in a lonely and vulnerable place. It’s about being infatuated with the idea of a savior that blindly leads you to making sacrifices on your wellbeing." You can listen to "Save me now" below...

Photo by Sasha Komarova Wisp is creating her own little subgenre of shoegaze, and we're here for it. "Nu-gaze" was previously meant for the early 00's shoegaze revival featuring bands like Silversun Pickups and The Stratford Four. Wisp creates "nü gaze," which combines  nü  metal with shoegaze, and is roughly ten times better than it has any right to be. Her latest single, "Get back to me," leans more into the dream pop side of the genre with just enough of an edge to fit into Wisp's normal style. This is such an interesting and unique blend of shoegaze, metal, pop, and dream pop that it sounds quite familiar and completely refreshing. "Get back to me" is a stunningly beautiful song that is instantly compelling. Wisp says of her latest single: "'Get back to me' represents the greed for chaos, even at the cost of yourself. It’s about staying in a place you know isn’t good for you, yet you’re in a seemingly unbreakable cycl...

Photo by Rudy Grazziani Los Angeles based artist Wisp has quickly become one of our favorite modern shoegaze artists with her unique take on the genre. Her latest single, "Sword," starts off being true to her musical moniker. It's a just barely audible whisper of a song, both musically and with her vocals. The song then erupts into a more pop music focused shoegaze track, complete with what sounds like autotuned vocals. The song then evolves again into a more pop focused track with more dream pop elements before yet again erupting into a heavy shoegaze finale, although it's still fairly poppy, especially with the vocals. Shoegaze purist may not end up being the biggest fan of "Sword," but if you keep an open mind you may end up being surprised by the magic that is Wisp. Wisp says of her latest single: "'Sword' represents the shame and confusion people feel when loved ones hide them from the world. It’s about not having a chance to shine because ...

Photo by Nick Espinal The Kids seem to get a lot of flack from people my age and older, but if you go by what Gen Z is doing with shoegaze, they're doing just fine. Case in point is Wisp, who released a fantastic new EP back, Pandora , in May. The Los Angeles based artist just released a brand new single that shows her unique take on the decades old genre. "I remember how your hands felt on mine" takes the traditional wall of drone and fuzz sounds of classic shoegaze, adds some Johnny Marr style guitar to it, and makes it a modern alt-pop anthem that demands you dance to it... even if it's just a little sway. I can't think of anything resembling shoegaze that could possibly inspire a dance party, but that is the power of Wisp. Genre purists might scoff at "I remember how your hands felt on mine," but it is truly their loss. An open mind and a willingness to let a genre evolve will do wonders for you with this one. Wisp says of her latest single: "...

Photo by Sophia Alverez Nineteen year old shoegaze artist Wisp is back with new music. "Enough for you" is pure shoegaze, with just the slightest hints of a pop sheen layered on top. The song is a lush wall of sound that should feel like a sledgehammer hitting the listener, but instead feels like a warm embrace. Wisp's vocals are barely above a whisper at time, and are just enough to add to the entire feeling of the song. Wisp gets compared to the Deftones quite a bit, and that is evident in "Enough for you." Personally, it's particularly reminding me of "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)." This is one of those artists that you'll get to brag about being a fan of before the end of the year, so hop on the bandwagon while you still can. Wisp says of her newest song: "'Enough for you' is about feeling undeserving for others because of how you perceive yourself due to insecurity and shame. The lyrics are from the perspective of a person wh...

One thing we music writers love is a good story, and sometimes that comes in the form of a mystery. Wisp is a nineteen year old artist making shoegaze in San Francisco, and that's just about all we know about them. Their latest single, "Your face," is a little more pop based than we typically get with the genre, but aside from that it's just a pure shoegaze track. The pop sound might be the vocals, since they're more of a whispered pop sound than what you typically get with shoegaze or indie rock. The song is also a little more aggressive than you get with this musical style, so it's kind of like Deftones teaming up with Mazzy Star. You can watch the video for "Your face" below. For more on Wisp, check out the artist on Instagram and TikTok .