What does Wallice sound like?

Phoebe Bridgers with a twist towards more electronic elements in the mix.

The review of Wallice – 90s American Superstar

It is always interesting to see how influential an indie star getting big can be for the upcoming musician landscape. I live for rock, indie rock and the female singer-songwriter genres, they’ve been my bread and butter since I was a kid. We are definitely living in the age of female musicians being inspired by Phoebe Bridgers. Wallice is an artist who clearly nods towards her peers but the reason why I adore her new EP “90s American Superstar” is she’s put her own identity into her music too.

Across the five tracks, Wallice makes it clear that she like her guitars electrified, her sound grungy but her drums and beats fast and poppy. This means you get the title track being anthemic pop rock whilst fuzzing up the guitars enough to appeal to the grungy rockers too. Elsewhere “Little League” jams the guitars through a synth that makes the main riffs sound like a keytar hybrid. It is extremely catchy but keeps that rough edge so both audiences can dive in with full aplomb. Indeed, blown-out speakers are a common thread across the EP but nowhere is it more pronounced than the angry synth-led “Rich Wallace”. A punkish Caroline Rose twist on capitalism to sassy keyboard chords that grow more aggressive across the track, it perfectly captures bedroom pop at its finest.

“John Wayne” is the pure rock track on the EP. We have a frenzied solo over three chord riffs and a shouty vocal from Wallice that shows if she wants to, Wallice can rock out with the best of them. Closer “Funeral” is a crowd-pleasing closer. The only track passing the three-minute mark, it brings in crowd-backed vocals for the chorus over guitar fuzz, trumpets, bendy synths and crunchy drums. It’s a party atmosphere and ends the EP with a euphoric smile. With these two tracks, it is less around sounding like Phoebe Bridgers, it’s more around the way Wallice tackled production. They have very similar minds for making fuzzy guitars and phasing synths in and out. Indie artists have been exploring this for several decades now but these two artists share production mindsets. I want to be clear though, Wallice isn’t a copycat. She’s doing her own thing and it is her own hallmarks that make her music great.

“90s American Superstar” represents the very best of a new generation of female rockstars. Adding in more electronic elements to either raise the tempo or create melodic chaos is a boon for Wallice. Add in impressive production and catchy choruses and you have yourself an underground sensation in the making. Don’t sleep on this, it’s a banger.

Recommended track: Rich Wallice

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