Image credit: Sophie Wise
Peter Wise is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer based out of Brooklyn, New York. His sound marries introspective lyricism with bluesy guitar lines, laid-back rhythms, catchy hooks, and soulful vocals. Wise has had the pleasure of collaborating with a wide range of artists, from The Eagles and Lisa Fischer to Liza Anne and Joey Dosik (Vulfpeck). After touring all over the country in 2019, Wise spent 2020 self-producing a six-song EP, Too Blind To Hear. The lead singles “Fruits” and “Towering Over Me” immediately garnered traction on Spotify in hundreds of playlists, and close to a hundred thousand streams.
His latest single “Neutral” takes inspiration from the film The Spectacular Now. Struck by a particular scene, Wise recalls, “There’s a line in the movie where a man tells Miles Teller’s character that he thought a past relationship would yank him out of neutral.” The line sparked a notion that a person or a relationship can push you forward or get you out of a rut, with Wise continuing, “We’ve all had people or experiences in our lives that have this dramatic ability to shift our course for the better, and I wrote this song to focus around that concept.” Written in spurts over six years, across different cities, Wise shows how the development of varying locations and situations had a huge impact on the song, reflecting in the lyrics such as, ‘woke up in Los Angeles,’ to ‘New Years down in Rio’ and ‘made a home in Brooklyn.’
“Neutral” carries a distinctive groove, with subtle electro pulses across the bassy keys, while the tight, rocky drums and grainy guitar gives a kick of vitality to the track. The sharp, “slap out of it” vibe of being in a neutral or a stationary phase comes through in the upbeat, warm, vibrant feeling, making you feel alive and able to leave behind a stagnant period of your life. The soulful backing vocals reinforce a swarm of powerful energy, mirroring the power of a person’s ability to move you.
Wise has been working on more pop-driven material for 2021, prepping releases for the summer and fall, with subsequent tour dates when he’s able to travel.
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