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If Not Winter
Studio album by
Wisp
ReleasedAugust 1, 2025
Recorded2024–2025
StudioGabe Greenland (Brentwood)
GenreShoegaze
Length38:13
Label
Producer
  • Aldn
  • Darcy Baylis
  • Colin Brittain
  • Zach CapittiFenton
  • Julian Emken
  • Gabe Greenland
  • Grayskies
  • Elliott Kozel
  • Kraus
  • Photographic Memory
  • Stint
Wisp chronology
Pandora
(2024) 		If Not Winter
(2025)
Singles from If Not Winter
  1. "Sword"
    Released: March 14, 2025
  2. "Get Back to Me"
    Released: April 18, 2025
  3. "Save Me Now"
    Released: June 6, 2025
  4. "Breathe Onto Me"
    Released: July 18, 2025
  5. "Serpentine"
    Released: July 29, 2025

If Not Winter is the debut studio album by the American musician Wisp, released on August 1, 2025 through Music Soup and Interscope Records. The album was produced by Stint alongside a variety of returning and new producers, including Photographic Memory, Grayskies, Gabe Greenland, Kraus, and Colin Brittain. Expanding on the style of Wisp's debut extended play (EP) Pandora (2024), If Not Winter is a shoegaze and dream pop(?) album [...] incorporating elements of pop and electronic, (heavy/nu metal?) music. Its lyrics, drawing from Wisp's personal experiences following her move to Los Angeles, explore [....]

If Not Winter received generally positive reviews from critics, who [...] The album was promoted by five; singles "Sword", "Get Back to Me", "Save Me Now", "Breathe Onto Me", and "Serpentine". Wisp is scheduled to embark on a headlining tour of North America and Europe in support of the album from August to November 2025, crossing over with a tour supporting System of a Down.

Background and recording

[edit]

Natalie Lu a.k.a. Wisp began working on If Not Winter shortly after the release of her debutin April 2024.[1]

.[2] Following a tour in support of the EP in April and May 2024, she began working on her debut album.[3] By January 2025, she was still in the early stages of writing and recording.[4][5] Whilst working on If Not Winter, Wisp drew influence from the Cocteau Twins album The Moon and the Melodies (1986),[6] Chappell Roan,[5] Whirr and Slowdive.[7]

Wisp [...] at Greenland's recording studio in Brentwood, California.[1]

If Not Winter was produced primarily by Max Epstein a.k.a. Photgraphic Memory

"Breathe Onto Me" was written around the same time as "See You Soon" (aka like late 2023 or so); was reworked.

Wisp wrote "Save Me Now" with producer and Linkin Park drummer Colin Brittain [...] reworked?[8]

Photographic Memory, alongside a variety of returning and new producers, including Grayskies, Gabe Greenland, Kraus,, and Stint.

reuniting with Grayskies, Max Epstein of Photographic Memory, Elliott Kozel, and Kraus and adding Aldn, Stint, Gabe Greenland, Zach CapittiFenton, Alden Gardner Robinson, Darcy Baylis, and Julian Emken to the mix.

Composition

[edit]

overview

[edit]

If Not Winter has been described as shoegaze,[9] dream pop. and alternative rock(??)[10]

Kristen S. Hé of NME [...]

Andrew Sacher of BrooklynVegan opined that [...] "major label-y" feel [????] [9]

dynamics (or at least, alterations) between light and dark[11]

Wisp aimed to make it a cohesive[4] and story driven album with greater pop and electronic music influences that would move her past the shoegaze label earned early in her career, which she now found limiting.[6]

lyrics

[edit]

lyrics inspired by wisp's experiences in the past year or so.

The album is named in reference to the Sappho poetry collection If Not, Winter (2002), which Wisp's manager reccomended to her / became obbsessed w and definite influence n all that.[1]

water metaphors[12]

also inspired by films movies things?? (aesthetically, anyway)

Songs (1/12)

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If Not Winter's opening track, "Sword", [...][13] that leads into an EDM-style beat drop.[14]

"Breathe Onto Me" is a heavy dream pop song influenced by the Deftones[15] detailing [16]

"Save Me Now" [...][17]

"After Dark" covers the end of a relationship [...][12]

"Guide Light" per LOBF: "She meets herself on the verge of destroying all that she’s built because of a lack of confidence in her own mission. She opines about having no one to turn to, a UFO-like synth looming ominously over the hook, asking desperately who will guide her when she doesn’t think she’ll have the strength to go on. It’s an articulation of some of her worst fears. But these are also fears she’ll never let manifest on her watch."

"Latvia" is an ambient interlude featuring bird sounds.[18] inspired by ethereal experience during filming of "Sword" music video.[8]

"If Not Winter" emo/piano ballad yeah[18] [...] Wisp considered it thematically similar to "After Dark" albeit with additional themes of guilt and resentment.[8]

"Mesmerized" is about a person Wisp was obsessed with.[8]

"Serpentine" is a summery love song[8]

"Get Back to Me" is about [....] [19] Wisp wrote the song after observing a [turbulent; in wisps words, "rough] relationship between two of her friends; she considered it "great exercise for me not to just write about my own experiences, but other people’s experiences as well."[8]

"Black Swan" [...] details Wisp's struggles of being in the limelight or smth like that.[8] [...] Murray compared the song's "barbed sonics" to Mogwai.[15]

If Not Winter 's closing track, "All I Need", is a [whispered?] acoustic ballad with whispered vocals[14][20] that pays homage to Wisp's beginnings as a musician and songwriter.[8]

Release and promotion

[edit]

On March 14, 2025, Wisp released "Sword" as the lead single from If Not Winter.[13] On April 13, 2025, Wisp debuted "Get Back to Me" and an untitled song live at Coachella;[21] the former was released the album's second single on April 18.[19][22] In an interview with Paper, she said the album was intended for release in July 2025.[21] On June 6, 2025, "Save Me Now" was released as the third single.[17] On June 24, 2025, Wisp announced If Not Winter had been completed after a year in production[23] and would be released on August 1; a visualizer for "Save Me Now" was released concurrently.[24][25] "Breathe Onto Me" was released as the album's fourth single on July 18, 2025.[16] "Serpentine" was released as the album's fifth and final single on July 29, 2025.[26]

Wisp is scheduled to embark on a headlining tour of North America and Europe in support of If Not Winter between August 22 and November 2, 2025.[24][27] In between the tour, she is scheduled to support System of a Down between August 22 and September 3.[27]

album cover mentioned in am review: "On the cover of If Not Winter, Wisp's Natalie Lu reclines in a white dress, shadowed by a looming forest that looks like it could devour her at any moment."[28] style and looks can be discussed here:[29]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[30]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[28]
Clash8/10[15]
Kerrang!4/5[11]
NME[18]
Paste7.3/10[10]
Pitchfork5.8/10[20]

On review aggregator website Metacritic, If Not Winter holds a score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from six critics, which indicates "generally favourable reviews."[30] AllMusic's Phares stated that the album "secures Wisp's place as one of the acts defining the sound of shoegaze in the 2020s".[28]

Robin Murray of Clash [...] [15]

Olivia Abercrombie of Paste [...] highlighted grwoth ig.[10]

Emma Wilkes of Kerrang! praised [...] [11] Wilkes felt that the album was "by no means a reinvention, but it's not regurgitation either – it is still hers", [...] highlighting Wisp's emotional storytelling thingmajing.[11]

NME [...] [18]

The Wall Street Journal [...] [14]

Kieran Press-Reynolds of Pitchfork [...] was frustrated by lack of innovation.[20]

Kira Imani Andrews of Melodic Magazine [...] [31]

Sacher of BrooklynVegan [...] [9]

Track listing

[edit]

Credits per Tidal.[32]

If Not Winter track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Sword"
2:26
2."Breathe Onto Me"
  • Lu
  • Zach CapittiFenton
  • Epstein
  • Grayskies
  • CapittiFenton
  • Grayskies
  • Photographic Memory
  • Stint
3:58
3."Save Me Now"
  • Brittain
  • Stint
3:02
4."After Dark"
  • Lu
  • Robinson
  • Greenland
  • Bhattacharyya
  • Aldn
  • Greenland
  • Stint
2:55
5."Guide Light"
  • Lu
  • Grayskies
  • Daniel Phillips
  • Liam Toon
  • Grayskies
  • Stint
3:48
6."Latvia"
  • Lu
  • Bhattacharyya
Stint1:14
7."If Not Winter"
  • Lu
  • Robinson
  • Greenland
  • Bhattacharyya
  • Aldn
  • Greenland
  • Stint
4:46
8."Mesmerized"
  • Lu
  • Epstein
  • CapittiFenton
  • CapittiFenton
  • Photographic Memory
  • Stint
3:35
9."Serpentine"
  • Lu
  • Epstein
  • Darcy Baylis
  • Photographic Memory
  • Baylis
  • Stint
3:04
10."Get Back to Me"
  • Lu
  • Bhattacharyya
  • Robinson
  • Elliott Kozel
  • Greenland
  • Aldn
  • Kozel
  • Greenland
  • Stint
3:10
11."Black Swan"
4:25
12."All I Need"
  • Lu
  • Robinson
  • Greenland
  • Aldn
  • Greenland
  • Stint
1:50
Total length:38:13

Notes

Personnel

[edit]

copy over from main article when rest is done bc im not interested rn.

References

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  1. ^ a b c David, Laura (July 28, 2025). "Wisp is proof the internet can still make rock stars | Interview". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  2. ^ Enis, Eli (December 17, 2024). "The Best Shoegaze Songs Of 2024". Stereogum. Archived from the original on January 17, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  3. ^ Porcar, Pablo (July 3, 2024). "[Entrevista] Wisp: "No me creía lo que estaba pasando cuando se viralizó mi música" - Binaural" [ [Interview] Wisp: "I couldn't believe what was happening when my music went viral."]. Binaural (in Spanish). Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  4. ^ a b Firth, Abigail (January 16, 2025). "Hype List 2025: Wisp is reinvigorating shoegaze for a new generation". Dork. Archived from the original on March 19, 2025. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Ewens, Hannah (January 21, 2025). "Wisp: The new face of nü gaze". Alternative Press. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Fenison, Ben (June 9, 2025). "Wisp on Leaving "Shoegaze" Behind: Exclusive Coachella Interview 2025". Medicine Box. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  7. ^ Newton, Felicity (June 25, 2025). "Wisp has announced their debut album 'If Not Winter' for August". Dork. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Lu, Natalie R. (August 1, 2025). "Wisp breaks down every song on If Not Winter". Alternative Press. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Sacher, Andrew (August 1, 2025). "Notable Releases of the Week (8/1)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c Abercrombie, Olivia (August 1, 2025). "Wisp Sinks Her Teeth Into Shoegaze Ideas on If Not Winter". Paste. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d Wilkes, Emma (July 29, 2025). "Album review: Wisp – If not winter". Kerrang!. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Murray, Robin; ClashMusic (August 1, 2025). "Morning Pages: Wisp Interviewed | Features". Clash. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Adams, Gregory (March 14, 2025). "Hear System of a Down-approved nu-gazer Wisp's new song "Sword"". Revolver. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  14. ^ a b c Richardson, Mark (July 29, 2025). "'If Not Winter' by Wisp Review: A 'Nu-Gaze' on a Familiar Genre". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d Murray, Robin (August 1, 2025). "Wisp – If Not Winter | Reviews". Clash Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Rossignol, Derrick (July 18, 2025). "Wisp Offers One More Pre-Album Single With 'Breathe Onto Me'". Uproxx. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  17. ^ a b Garner, Emily (June 6, 2025). "Listen to Wisp's "vulnerable" new single, Save me now". Kerrang!. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c d Hé, Kristen S. (July 30, 2025). "Wisp – 'If Not Winter' review: pop shoegaze with ambition and vulnerability". NME. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Hardman, Neville (April 18, 2025). "Wisp tries to break self-destructive loops on "Get back to me"". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  20. ^ a b c Press-Reynolds, Kieran (August 1, 2025). "Wisp: If Not Winter". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  21. ^ a b Campbell, Erica (April 17, 2025). "Coachella Backstage Interviews 2025". Paper. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
  22. ^ Cao, Katie (April 17, 2025). "Wisp Debuts 'Get Back to Me' at Coachella & More | Billboard News". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  23. ^ Sticky (June 6, 2025). "Wisp、待望のデビューアルバム『If Not Winter』を 8/1 リリース！". indienative (in Japanese). Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  24. ^ a b Pearis, Bill (June 24, 2025). "Wisp announce debut album & headline tour: hear 3 tracks". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  25. ^ Breihan, Tom (June 24, 2025). "Wisp Announces Debut Album 'If Not Winter': Hear "Save Me Now"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  26. ^ Terpstra, Ivo (July 29, 2025). "Shoegaze | Wisp - Serpentine". Nieuweplaat.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  27. ^ a b Brasil, Sydney (June 24, 2025). "Wisp Details Debut Album 'If Not Winter,' Plots Tour". Exclaim!. Retrieved June 25, 2025.
  28. ^ a b c Phares, Heather. "If Not Winter - Wisp | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  29. ^ Herh, Kala (August 1, 2025). "Meet Wisp, The Shoegaze Princess Beloved By Rick Owens". Coveteur. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  30. ^ a b "If Not Winter by Wisp". Metacritic. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  31. ^ Andrews, Kira Imani (August 1, 2025). "Wisp brings the warmth on debut album 'If Not Winter' — Album Review". Melodic Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
  32. ^ "Wisp - If Not Winter". Tidal. August 1, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
[edit]
  • If Not Winter on YouTube

scraps

[edit]

news

https://femmusic.com/2025/07/31/wisp-if-not-winter/

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/hear-nu-gaze-rising-star-wisps-debut-album-if-not-winter/

(also check UMG press things)

interviews

https://www.tmrwmagazine.com/en/news/wisp-ethereal-power-shoegaze-dreams

https://www.clashmusic.com/features/morning-pages-wisp-interviewed/

https://floodmagazine.com/200941/wisp-if-not-winter-in-convo/

https://coveteur.com/meet-wisp-the-shoegaze-princess-2673790188

https://www.altpress.com/wisp-if-not-winter-song-breakdown/

unrelated/etc

idk


cut thsi down; line of best fit:

so: "continues and expands on the direction of Pandora"

In college, she got that first taste of musical freedom. And once the Wisp project took off, she pushed those boundaries even further with a move to L.A., where her world expanded dramatically. “Once I moved to L.A., I realized that those kinds of people were literally everywhere and all I had to do was put myself out there, open my eyes, and just wear my music on my sleeve more and not be too afraid of people judging my taste,” she explains.

So much of Wisp’s allure, after all, isn’t just her recordings but her world. Those luscious guitars are escapes as much as earworms, and her project to date has been as heavily rooted in fantasy as it has been in shoegaze or metal. Lu’s imagery often shows her in Medieval costume, embracing a knight in armour or laying like a pixie in the grass. “Being able to write music that can also be attached to a visual world, I’m able to bring my own childhood fantasies into it,” she tells me. The only kind of project she wants to make is one her inner child would have loved – the kind that draws from the stories of mythical creatures and Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. “I’m kind of building out a movie set in my head.”

ADVERT


Working with both longtime collaborator Max Epstein and new faces including Elliott Kozel, Gabe Greenland, and aldn, Lu’s traditional sound gets the avant-pop treatment. Welcome electronic tints are added to the layers upon layers of guitar that usually fill Lu’s mixes, around which her vocals and lyrics also come more into centre stage.

“This time around, I actually knew what I wanted to say,” Lu tells me of working on her record. “Being able to write lyrics and get things off my chest and have the urge to write not just for someone but because I’m feeling a certain way and that writing will help me is how I gathered all of this material.”


The transition from wunderkind to career artist can be fraught, at times. Some get lost in the hype, failing to find their voice inside all the noise. Others, like Wisp, go the opposite direction, leaning even more into themselves and what they think is cool, knowing that the rest will follow. With social analytics often acting as a prerequisite to record deals and big opportunities in the industry, the role of the artist as the tastemaker can easily be forgotten. Lu, however, is not one to forget.

“My songs [on this record] are more vulnerable and more connected to myself and my life stories, whereas I feel like on a couple of my past singles, I did write from my heart, but I wasn’t as connected to the things I was writing about and a lot of the lyrics were solely for the purpose of being catchy or being relatable to other people, or just so that I could have a song out. All the tracks on this album actually mean something to me,” she continues.


unrelated

https://web.archive.org/web/20130516111051/http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20070125235105876

etc2

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