Wishy take several threads of rock revival that have been lingering in the air for a few years – shoegaze, pop-punk, 90s indie – and weave them into a shaggy yet remarkable patchwork. The Indianapolis band, built around the songwriting duo of Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites, have strong ears for hooks and an evidently encyclopedic knowledge of the past 30 years of indie music. Wishy’s debut album, Triple Seven, plays a little like the playlist your coolest friend made you in high school: Busted taps into the melodic yearning of early Strokes, while Just Like Sunday rides a Lil Peep-style trap-rock beat. The songs led by Pitchkites, including the album’s title track, feel of a piece with Hatchie’s sugary-sweet dreampop.
Krauter is a well-known solo artist and was a member of the now-defunct indie band Hoops, who broke up in 2020 amid multiple scandals; Pitchkites performs solo as Push Pop. The pair knew each other in high school in Indiana, and their sensibilities are well matched on Triple Seven, which has a scattershot approach to genre that feels reflective of the way people listen to music now. Across the record, there are small thrills in hearing the way the band slide from one mode to another – going from driving, maximalist 90s rock on Game, for example, straight into the weepily anthemic Love on the Outside. It’s nostalgic music delivered in a refreshingly modern package.
Triple Seven is out now via Winspear
