With the musical switchboards awash with indie-rock in every form, it feels sometimes like nothing sticks. If anyone’s got a chance, it’s Wallows. The sunny LA-based three piece alt-rock outfit are back with their second full length LP, ‘Tell Me That It’s Over’, an eclectic 10 song record full of the emotional roller-coasters that permeate love, life and relationships.
Wallows have a certain slickness to them that only comes with playing together for a long time, and sure enough the group, (fronted by Dylan Minnette on guitar and vocals, Braeden Lemaster on vocals and guitar, and Cole Preston on guitar and drums) first formed as teenagers over a decade ago in 2011 under the name Join The Band, performing in the 2011 Warped Tour. From independently releasing their first single ‘Pleaser’ in 2017, the three childhood best friends have worked their way tirelessly to success and aren’t stopping any time soon. With several releases under their belts and collabs with the likes of Clairo and Remi Wolf, they have never stopped satisfying listeners with their earworm hooks and nostalgic indie pop.
In a pleasingly comprehensive continuation of their first album ‘Nothing Happens’, the band take on a meticulous exploration of musical styles, incorporating elements of lo-fi post-punk to indie-folk to early-’90s dance-pop psychedelia stuffed satisfyingly into a neat pop package. The experimentation is more apparent than ever, with the trio incorporating instrumental elements such as harmonica, banjo and alternative percussion alongside the usual lineup, giving the new material a fullness of sound not quite touched upon in their previous work.
The album opens with ‘Hard To Believe’, a track awash with blissful summer tones, the seemingly carefree music juxtaposed by the lyrical despondency, grieving for the things they never said. Fuzzy guitars, clean vocals and the stomp-along beat conjure memories of the stoner-rock era when Weezer topped the charts and on the first track we can already tell this album could easily be the soundtrack to a heart-warming coming of age movie.
Stand out track and single ‘At The End Of The Day’ is awash with nostalgia, a nod to the 90’s Britpop with bright blaring synth notes, tingling strings and a catchy pop infused melody. The song speaks of a relationship that you know will end and encapsulates the album’s themes of dealing with love and loss. Like much of the lyrical content on the album, ‘At The End Of The Day’ provides the listener with a familiar feeling of hoping for the future while lamenting for the past. A theme that rings particularly poignant with people across the globe after the events of the last few years.
Wallows are at their sunshine best on tracks like ‘Marvelous’ and ‘I Don’t Wanna Talk’, bouncy bright tracks which hold clear influences from Tame Impala, Vampire Weekend, Mac DeMarco and the likes. Yet it’s not all vim and vigor; contrast those peaks with the orchestral lull of ‘That’s What I Get’, for example. While a couple of songs get a little lost in the mix – and the lyrical themes do become a little samey over time – there’s no denying that each song inspires a yearning for a sunny afternoon in front of a festival stage watching the band do what they do best.
7/10
Words: Oshen Douglas McCormick
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