Photos by Dylan Simmons
Wisp is Natalie Lu, the 21-year-old musician at the forefront of the Gen Z shoegaze resurgence. Though she only began releasing music in 2023, Wisp has quickly become a prominent force in her scene, with tracks like “Your face” and “Once then we’ll be free” amassing instant virality on TikTok. I first discovered her as an act at 2024’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival — another significant milestone marking her accelerating career. Riding on a dedicated fanbase and a successful EP (Pandora), Wisp released her first full-length record, If Not Winter, this August. This debut was accompanied by a North American tour, including a stop at the legendary Fonda Theatre on September 23.
Wisp opened the show with one of my favorite tracks: “Pandora.” Her stage presence immediately garnered intrigue; the stage, thick with fog, emitted a dim, hazy lighting that only faintly illuminated her outline as the crowd waited with bated breath for their headliner to begin. Wisp’s soft, breathy vocals echoed through the venue, encapsulating the dream-like quality that’s a hallmark of shoegaze classics. After the drawn-out first verse, a full band of distorted guitars suddenly kicked in, crunchy bass rattling The Fonda’s walls. Stage lights beamed down, finally revealing the band as the crowd began to cheer and move in response to the tempo switch.
Wisp easily commanded the stage, feeding off the frenzied adoration of her young audience. Despite a demure shyness — perhaps a reflection of her youthfulness, or of shoegaze’s inherently mysterious aura — her stage presence still felt lively and captivating to watch. Entranced by her soft voice and noisy, echoing guitar riffs, it felt as though Wisp lured the whole crowd under her spell.
For the encore, Wisp added a grunge twist to Coldplay’s iconic hit “Yellow” — a stellar cover that Wisp has officially released for streaming — followed by her debut single, “Your face.” Wisp offers a fresh, unique take on an iconic niche in the alternative scene, and I look forward to continuing to witness her upward trajectory.
Listen to If Not Winter here!
