Wisp's 'Pandora' Is a Vulnerable, Lush, and Necessary Addition to Shoegaze
Photo: Sophia Álverez
The release of Wisp's debut EP, Pandora, is the satisfying waypoint of a remarkable journey that kicked off with the soaring viral success of her breakout track "Your face." Picking apart shoegaze tropes and touchstones, Wisp seized on the genre's essence, sonics at their most indescribable, composition at its most liminal, while blending it with modern production techniques. From her bedroom to the world, Wisp blended a noted intimacy with evident openness and a desire to communicate. The six-track body of work hinges on matters of the heart while teasing out various aspects of Wisp's work as a producer and songwriter.
"Pandora is about the vulnerability and intensity of romantic relationships," she shares. "The songs range from topics like mistaking infatuation for love, to the feeling of true love. I wanted the EP to showcase the complexity of what we all hope to find, even if it's finding ourselves first."
The EP opens with the titular "Pandora," a personal favorite, which builds its shifting world with a spacey, ambient instrumental that transforms through many structural changes. The vocal melodies are effortless and floaty, flowing well with the instrumentals and never outshining each other in the mix. The breakdown after the chorus into verse two is a track highlight with electronic drums that never fail to hype up the listener.
We are then whisked away to Wisp's breakout track, "Your Face," which cuts deep with its blistering first impression and dusky tensions, dynamic lift-offs, and the metallic sheen of its towering guitars. "Enough for you" is a stunning piece of sound design pieced together by broken-down guitar textures that retain an ambient quality. Wisp oscillates between light and dark, pairing her punctuated moody vocals with wistful, noisy instrumentation. Amid punchy percussion and soaring guitar riffs, she poignantly croons, "Why can't you need me? / Need me like I need you / Why can't you love me? / Love me like you used to."
EP closer "Mimi" is a dream and the most uplifting and sweet song she's written to date. She paints a story about being in love with a performer and seeing them on stage with "Glares of blue and purple lights" in their eyes. In the chorus, she is in awe and admiration, whispering as they share their intimate moment from behind the barricade, "You close your eyes / And I close mine / You close your eyes / And I close mine," she sings. This finale feels like the perfect song for anyone dying to make a Nana AMV.
It can't be said enough that this debut EP is a no-skip experience. Pandora is lush and angelic but doesn't shy away from embracing the darkness of its vulnerable lyrical content and eerie sonic undertones. It has a sense of immediacy that shoegaze can sometimes lack, and it feels like something that new and longtime fans of the genre can agree on. Set to tour with Panchiko across North America this Spring, Wisp's debut EP feels like a critical moment for this breakout star still on the rise.
Listen to Pandora below:
