Wishy’s Kevin Krauter and Nina Pitchkites first crossed paths at high school, something that makes immediate sense amid the power-pop hooks and rich indie-rock textures of ‘Nature’s Pill’. The surging emotions and slacker charm of the Indianapolis band’s second album are perfectly attuned to that formative time, when f****** up and figuring things out in the company of friends and could-be-more-than-friends seemed all-consuming.
The former NME Cover stars pare back some of the shoegazey rumination found on their debut ‘Triple Seven’. Instead, on ‘Nature’s Pill’ the feelings are bigger and their songwriting instincts are sharper, with the cleanest melodies of their career underpinning a treatise on longing that will chime with anyone who’s ever thrown themselves face-down on a bed while muttering, “It’s just so unfair, man.”
The record’s touchstones, from gleaming ’90s chart rock to Parquet Courts-y weirdo-indie and the thrashing twee-pop of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, are separated by genre markers and years of rock history but united by a common sensibility. It’s a sort of gloopy euphoria inspired by crushes, lust and heartbreak that won’t last long because, well, you’re young and there’s a great song on the radio. In eschewing overt biography and lyrical specificity in favour of zingers, abstract couplets and snatched moments of emotional clarity, Krauter and Pitchkites have essentially created a sense of nostalgia for a shared past that doesn’t exist. It’s clever stuff.
Reinforcing this thematic cohesion, the duo have also found a new level of collaborative chemistry, helped along by fizzing performances from guitarist Dimitri Morris, bassist Mitch Collins and drummer Conner Host. During the propulsive jangle-pop of ‘All The Rage’ they trade lines like relay runners passing off a baton, chasing a hook that never manages to outpace them, while on ‘Mona Lisa’ they are in lockstep, doubling up as the chorus develops into something unexpectedly complex. Their earnestness allows them to ride out some potentially gimmicky mall-rock moments and, in the case of ‘Sensational’, pull something genuinely affecting from the fires of pastiche: “Heart bleeding on the floor / That’s quite the splash / You better make it last.”
When they found themselves on the cover of NME a few years ago, Wishy were a good band with the obvious potential to be great. That they’ve taken a big step towards that goal by prioritising fun and hopelessly romantic sort of optimism – a difficult line to walk in a world as miserable as ours – is as remarkable as it is refreshing. ‘Nature’s Pill’ is a record to knock you head over heels and then help you up off the floor.
Details
- Record label: Winspear
- Release date: October 2, 2026
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