WL

WL, the experimental pop trio from Portland, Oregon (pronounced "well"), produces sounds that stretch from visceral noise eruptions to tranquil introspection. Anchored by the poised vocals and bass of Misty Mary together with the layered sonic textures of multi-instrumentalist Michael Yun, the group defined its core approach on the 2013 album Hold, incorporating strands of indie rock, dream pop, and minimal electronics. The band fully exploited its improvisation-rooted writing process on the entrancing 2016 release Light Years and further distilled its methods on the buoyant 2020 set ADHD, confirming that compassion matters as much as exploratory sounds.

The members first convened in January 2012 after Mary and Yun connected through Portland’s indie scene. Drummer Stevie Nistor soon completed the lineup, and the trio began performing live. Their earliest recording, the July single “Impermanent,” appeared on Death Party Records. A European journey Mary had taken partly shaped the debut full-length Hold, which broadened the group’s range of eclectic indie rock and atmospheric reveries before emerging in July 2013 on the band’s own Prospect & Refuge imprint.

Light Years took an extended period to reach completion. It began as an improvised score performed at a 2012 screening of René Laloux’s 1988 animated film Gandahar, was tracked in 2013, and then occupied several years of collaboration with visual artists and filmmakers to generate accompanying imagery for every track. The album finally surfaced in October 2016 on XRAY Records. After Mary’s stint in the kindred synth project Dan Dan, WL resurfaced with the November 2020 album ADHD. Yun and Mary’s first recording with guitarist/drummer Adam Breeden, the set also included Golden Retriever’s Jonathan Sielaff and translated Mary’s experiences of grief and anxiety into its reassuring atmosphere.