Remi Wolf's World, in Full Color

She followed her own beat to become an alt-pop star, and she's going even bigger this time

- LARISHA PAUL

Remi Wolf's eyes are scanning the immediate area surrounding the metal table we've claimed on a side street in New York's Chinatown.

"Fuck, there's no wood," she says, swiveling her head around once more before finding what she's looking for. About six feet away, outside of a barber shop, sit two wooden chairs - and, as she sees it, the key to continuing her streak of good luck, or at least warding off any potential bad fortune. "I've developed a knocking-onwood tic," she explains after jogging over to double-tap her fist against the seat. "Another friend of mine has it. Maybe I caught it from him." Wolf, 28, has too many stars aligning at this moment to take any chances. A few weeks after we talk in March, she will embark on a two-month tour opening for Olivia Rodrigo in Europe, following up recent stints with Paramore and Lorde. Then comes the big one - or rather, Big Ideas, her sophomore studio album, set for release on July 12.

For more than a year, Wolf split her time between the stage, the studio, and her home in Los Angeles, settling into an insular creative cycle as she crafted the follow-up to 2021's Juno - the lyrically unpredictable debut LP that marked her as one of the quirkiest, catchiest artists in alt-pop. Now, she's reacquainting herself with an entirely different routine. "I made this record, did all my writing, and now here comes the other half of the job: going out and having to look good," she says. "I just try to do whatever I would do naturally, but at a certain point - when you're constantly being perceived I don't really know how it's affecting my psyche."