Wisp Welcomes New Album With 'Black Swan' Video
(Darkroom Records) Wisp finally unveils her debut album, If Not Winter, a labor of love for the shoegaze genre, as fast as that may be, made by one of its biggest fans and burgeoning stars. Along with the album we get an official video for "Black Swan,"
Wisp is living her highest fantasy, sat at the table with her idols (by the end of September she'll have played on the same stages as both Slowdive and Deftones, two of her biggest inspirations), so it's appropriate that If Not Winter heightens its diaristic lyrics with elements of medieval fantasy. At its core, it's a quest, throughout which she picks up magic talismans or holy grails from villages she can now call home.
Ethereal yet extremely close to the heart, it's a triumph of brave exploration and experimental cartography. Wisp has already shared album tracks "Breathe Onto Me," with a lustful, distorted drone, "Save me now," her grungiest track to date which caught the eye of NPR; "Sword," an expansive overture to the record; and "Get back to me," perhaps the sunniest, sun-splitting-through-the-clouds moment on the record. If Not Winter is sheathed in armor that mirrors the heavier tones Wisp brings onto this record, while still maintaining the delicacy of flowy white lace underneath that her whispered vocals imply.
Inspired by a thriving community of artistic friends, mentors, and collaborators, If Not Winter finds Wisp synthesizing disparate sonic universes into a singular and evocative aesthetic. Incorporating the melodic sophistication of pop's most versatile songwriters, folk's narrative poetry, and the hierarchy-smashing communal ideals of hardcore, If Not Winter is a landmark release from one of 2025's most vital young rock artists.
Say Wisp of her debut album: "If Not Winter is a look into my diary entries and all of my childhood dreams. Evoking feelings of limerence, nostalgia, infatuation to the highest levels- it's a vulnerable reflection of my most inner thoughts and memories i wanted to eternize, to look back on, and for everyone else to relate and find meaning in."
"Black Swan" and the accompanying video play with light and dark, and the feeling of the unknown. Since Wisp became Wisp not too long ago, she's struggled with the idea of being perceived by so many other people as such, which takes her simultaneously away from and closer to her true self. The public light is blinding, but the eyes adjust, it's clear that staying true to one's self is the only path forward.
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