Plaid Patterns and Bubblegum Stains
Wishy’s Nature’s Pill feels like a late ’90s coming-of-age movie, full of fuzzy guitars, teenage angst and a hazy kind of nostalgia. Their second studio album finds the Indianapolis band leaning into the sweeter, more playful side of their indie rock sound without losing the shoegaze textures that made their debut, Triple Seven, stand out.
The opening track “All the Rage” pairs upbeat drums and melodic guitars with the kind of sadness that follows a breakup. The song captures the strange feeling of having to relearn how to exist without someone who once felt like your other half. There’s a lack of motivation running beneath the song; a feeling of being stuck while the world keeps moving. The upbeat instrumentation nearly contradicts the lyrics, an intentional nod to the lies we tell ourselves after a breakup.
“Covergirl” shifts into a nostalgic ’90s alternative sound, with Nina Pitchkites’ vocals floating over echoing guitars. Pitchkites sounds great against the hazy production, while the guitars fill the gaps between her vocals. The song plays with nostalgia without getting lost in it, and its catchy melody makes it one of the album’s strongest tracks. The song feels instantly familiar. It’s as if it was pulled straight from a forgotten teenage bedroom, dusted off decades later.
Nature’s Pill captures the aimless angst of adolescence, when every emotion feels enormous and there’s nowhere to put it all. “Sensational” leans into that with a whinier, almost tween-pop sound, while the thick guitar textures keep the album grounded in shoegaze.
Wishy has found a balance between fuzzy alternative rock and dream pop. The album tastes like gingham and smells of carousel rides. There’s something a little messy and juvenile about it, reminiscent of summers spent blowing bubbles, running around and coming home with grass stains on your clothes. The album feels like it was made surrounded by wooden cupboards and old furniture, with lemonade and cookies waiting in the kitchen.
As the album progresses, the songs begin to blend together. The guitars create such a thick atmosphere that some tracks struggle to distinguish themselves from the ones before them. “Mona Lisa” arrives at a welcome point in the track list, pulling the listener back in just as the album threatens to dissolve into one long alternative rock haze.
In a genre that can sometimes take itself too seriously, Nature’s Pill leaves room for fun. The album captures the aimless angst of adolescence, that restless feeling of wanting something more without knowing exactly what it is. There’s a sweetness to looking back on those years, when the ordinary days you spent wishing away eventually become the ones you miss most. Wishy taps into that feeling without getting too caught up in the melancholy. Nature’s Pill finds its strength in its whimsy. It’s a little sugary, a little hazy and undeniably charming.
Leave a Comment