For a band that’s been around in one form or another since 2004, Wingfish knows a thing or two about change. Lineups shift, styles evolve, but some things, like a strong set of songs and a dedication to raw, live energy; some things stay impressively intact. Their EP Looking Forward isn’t exactly “new” — it’s the same release from 2004, with only minor metadata tweaks. It followed their 2002 studio album Stories from the River Ego Shoreline. This one isn’t about reinvention, but about locking in and solidifying their identity. Clocking in at three tracks, the project showcases a band fully embracing their imperfections in order to highlight their authenticity, creativity, and staying power.
The title Looking Forward feels like both a statement of intent and a wink at their own history. With Jesper, the band’s only remaining original member, at the creative helm, Wingfish crafts a sound here that’s equal parts nostalgic and forward-thinking. Rather than lean into overproduction or studio polish, they’ve taken a more organic route, tracking much of the EP live, warts and all. That decision pays off: this is music that breathes, sweats, and sways like it was meant to be played on stage, not endlessly edited in post.
The EP opens with the title track, “Looking Forward,” a tight, rhythm-driven tune that immediately sets the tone. There’s an edge to the performance; not exactly aggressive, more like urgent; like a band with something to prove even after all these years. The instrumentation is deliberately cohesive, with just enough looseness to remind you this is a real band, playing in real time. Jesper’s guitar tone leans gritty and melodic, anchoring the track without crowding the arrangement. Lyrically, it walks a line between optimism and uncertainty, hinting at change without quite declaring what’s next. That open-endedness is part of its charm. It’s a song that pushes ahead, even if it’s not entirely sure what it’s heading into and that makes it feel all the more human.
“I Know Everything” shifts gears into something a little moodier. Here, Jesper’s post-production experiments start to creep in, backwards echo, a bit of warped radio noise, and subtle textures that give the track a dreamlike haze. There’s a confidence to the vocal delivery that contrasts cleverly with the title, suggesting that maybe knowing everything isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The infinite sustain guitar lurking in the background gives the track an eerie, almost shoegaze-like atmosphere, but never overwhelms the mix. The balance between raw live energy and studio experimentation is particularly strong here; it’s where the EP really hits its stride.
Closing track “Promise She Made” is the most emotionally direct of the three, and arguably the highlight. Stripped-down in its opening moments, it gradually builds without ever losing control. The band plays with restraint, allowing space for each element to land. Again, it’s not about technical perfection, it’s about feel. And Promise She Made feels like a closer: contemplative, bittersweet, and totally unforced.
From a production standpoint, the EP finds a compelling middle ground between fidelity and experimentation. Jesper’s touches, with the old noisy radio sounds, the backwards effects, the near-ambient sustain; they don’t feel like gimmicks. They’re subtle enough to complement the core performances rather than distract from them. For a three-track project, the sonic palette is surprisingly rich, and more importantly, consistent. There’s a homogeneity to the sound that works in its favor, giving Looking Forward the feeling of a short, unified statement rather than just a sampler of ideas.
But what stands out most on Looking Forward isn’t the effects, or even the songs themselves, though they’re strong. It’s the energy. Wingfish, for all its changes over the years, still sounds like a band that actually enjoys playing together. That may sound like faint praise, but in an era of remote collabs and copy-paste arrangements, it’s genuinely refreshing. You can hear the moments where someone misses a cue by a beat, or pushes a chorus just slightly too hard and rather than edit those out, the band leans into them. They treat the imperfections like part of the point, and that choice gives the whole EP a warmth and immediacy that pristine pop productions just can’t replicate.
Jesper has called the release a reflection of both the band’s evolution and their core identity, and that’s spot on. These songs have lived on in Wingfish’s live setlists for years, and they carry that sense of earned familiarity. But Looking Forward isn’t just a victory lap or a nostalgia trip. It’s a snapshot of a band still growing, still experimenting, and still playing their hearts out, even if the venues are smaller and the production gear a little more beat up. Wingfish offers something different on Looking Forward: three songs that sound like people in a room, working it out in real time. It may not be perfect, but it’s honest. And that’s something worth looking forward to.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
