Label: Winspear
Released: 25th April 2025
‘Planet Popstar’ EP is Wishy playing around. The shoegaze, dream-pop core of their debut album ‘Triple Seven’ shares space with 00s pop, jangling college-rock, and pop-punk on this new project, whilst nonetheless retaining a glitchy yet sunny coherence, even as vocal duties flit back and forth between Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites.
Scrubbed acoustic guitar and harmonised vocals in ‘Fly’ illuminate images of skateboards and iced lattes, setting up the laidback, hazy collection of songs that you can’t help but tap your toes and smile along to. Title-track ‘Planet Popstar’ is awash with the fuzzy guitar and crashing drums of 90s emo-rock, whilst Krauter’s vocal delivery on ‘Portal’ brings an almost goth-rock grounding to an EP otherwise determined to float into the ether. ‘Over and Over’ feels as though it could break into a Natasha Bedingfield song at a moment’s notice (in a good way), whilst ‘Chaser’ is a Soccer Mommy-esque alt-pop tune built for a road trip. Closing track ‘Slide’ transports you to an episode of Gilmore Girls, but with enough edge to let the otherwise subtle sonic palette keep its hold on you.
There’s something for everyone on ‘Planet Popstar EP’, whether you’re a pop girlie longing for 2008 or a former emo kid with scars from eyebrow piercings and a Thrasher t-shirt you just can’t quite get rid of. It’s just a feel-good, upbeat, straightforward EP of good songs designed for a sunny day. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you need.
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