WISP

Under the name Wisp, Natalie R. Lu has been developing a sound in San Francisco that sits between shoegaze, nu-gaze and alternative rock: thick guitars, hazy melodies and often airy vocals that retain a more abrasive edge than classic dream pop. An American of Thai and Taiwanese descent, Wisp began releasing music in 2023 and quickly drew attention with the single “Your Face”, followed the same year by “Tangled Dreams” and “Once then we’ll be free”. Her first EP, Pandora, appeared in 2024 and established the outlines of a sound that mixes saturation, dark romanticism and short-form structures inherited from contemporary alternative pop. In the wake of that release, Wisp played her own dates across the United States and opened for Panchiko, placing her both in the current indie scene and within the renewed interest in shoegaze aesthetics among younger bands and solo artists. In 2025 she featured on Photographic Memory’s track “Heartstyle” and released her debut album, If Not Winter, later that year. While the label shoegaze is frequently applied to her work, Wisp also ties her music to a more current take on the genre, where sonic density coexists with clear, singable choruses and a more upfront alternative rock sensibility.