Wisp at The Deaf Institute

Shoegaze is back, and TikTok’s to blame.

To algorithms that favour short blasts of mood and texture, Shoegaze is the prodigal son. Not only is this handing the old guard a new generation of fans, it’s also catapulting emerging shoegazers to the kind of fame that would have seemed impossible a few years ago.

Enter the 20-year-old San Francisco native, Natalie Lu, who went from recording demos on iPhone earbuds to being a major label star within months. A self-described fanatic of the genre, Wisp’s music is less about reinventing than re-inhabiting, drawing on the worlds of Slowdive and Whirr and combining them with a nu-metal crunch. Imagine the introspective side of Deftones rebuilt as a bedroom pop project and you’re close.

Wisp’s career took off with Your Face, a single that’s now clocked 150 million Spotify streams – more than My Bloody Valentine’s biggest track. Off the back of that came a deal with Interscope and her debut album, If Not Winter. Despite some early cynicism from shoegaze purists, the record has already won plenty over.

If Not Winter lands as a dense, dreamlike journey through infatuation, fantasy and noise. Whispering diary-like lyrics into storms of distortion, Natalie Lu has sketched out a world that’s both fragile and heavy. Songs like ‘Black Swan’ pit murmured vocals against serrated guitars, while ‘Get Back to Me’ channels Cocteau Twins as it cuts a shaft of radiant light through the fog, A grungier edge arrives with tracks like ‘Breathe Onto Me’, getting heavier still on ‘Sword’, which starts with acoustic whispers and ends in a brutal-but-beautiful blow-out.

The generational reanimation of shoegaze has already carried Wisp to Coachella, Bonnaroo and on tours with Deftones and Slowdive – all before her 21st birthday. Considering all this, you might be surprised by the fact she’s playing at venues as small as the 300-capacity Deaf Institute – and that paradox warrants its own article. For now, best not to overthink it. Just take the chance to ride this unlikely wave in one of Manchester’s most atmospheric spaces.