Real name: WUT

Effective period / Period of releases: 2024

Members: Tracey Vath, Kaity McWhinney, Lauren Smith (3)

Since 2018, Vancouver BC’s WUT have been crafting their own special blend of jangle pop, cuddle-core, and twee, making a local name for themselves with their joyfully heartfelt live performances. In 2020, the trio released NOW, an energetic cassette accompanied by 10 DIY music videos. These earnest and often humorous videos reflect WUT’s playful yet sincere songwriting. Recently, WUT recorded NEXT, their sophomore full-length album, yet to be released. NEXT was created during two years of intermittent quarantines which caused guitarist Kaity McWhinney (of Knife Pleats and Love Cuts), bassist Tracey Vath (also of Knife Pleats and Love Cuts), and drummer Lauren Smith (of Tough Age and Jock Tears), to write songs independently, and share their ideas through countless emails. Long periods of isolation were consumed by experimentation with different arrangements, and often an idea would be re-worked over and over (and over) again. This resulted in a collection of carefully crafted pop songs that reflects the bands mutual love for c86 jangle pop and early flying nun bands. McWhinney’s longtime friend and musical collaborator, Christina Riley (Artsick, Burnt Palms) joins WUT in the track “Your Feelings”, which pushes the band into the realms of garage rock with her raw and frenetic lead guitar. On a surface level, NEXT may seem fun and carefree. However, a dig deeper into the album’s lyrical content draws up themes that grapple with patriarchy and late capitalism; specifically the struggle to find personal autonomy within these social systems.