Wallows - Tell Me That It’s Over
Atlantics record
Every time I discover that one of my favourite indie bands is going to release another album – worry begins to creep in. Countless artists have lost sight of themselves in a quest to do something ‘different’, focusing on a formula to fame rather than honouring the passion that got them there in the first place.
LA-based Wallows (consisting of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters and Cole Preston), in their sophomore album ‘Tell Me That It’s Over’, have mastered the balance between experimentalism and expectancy. Fans will find comfort in their distinct sunny sounds and nostalgic vocals, while also being forced to delve into realms not seen from the band before.
Kicking off with orchestral-laced ‘Hard to believe’, Wallows immediately bring their listeners through a time-lapse of maturity. They tackle themes of regret and the chaos of navigating adulthood, bringing fans from where they left them in 2019 to their present reality.
‘I Don’t Want To Talk’ and ‘Especially You’, despite being two of the most highly-anticipated tracks on the album, fell a little flat. The vocals felt monotonous and the instrumentals too dissonant. Whilst still catchy, perhaps it is the contrast to the album’s overall magmatism that left me disappointed.
‘At the End of the Day’, though, is a stand-out. Starting slow with layered synth-driven melodies and textured instrumentals, the track feels like safety personified. Covering unconditional love, it soon becomes clear why Lemasters named Neil Young’s Harvest Moon and Blur’s idiosyncratic Britpop among its inspirations.
Whilst some tracks take you on a journey of self-reflection and mellow nostalgia, others (‘Marvellous’ and ‘Hurts Me’) use sun-filled pop and funk-instrumentals to transport you to a festival field on a summers day, dancing and screaming lyrics to lit-up faces.
Wallows round off the album with cinematic-sounding ‘That’s What I Get’ and ‘Guitar Romantic Search Adventure’. The two tracks feature dreamy strings and a rare emotionality which beautifully encapsulates the fragility of early relationships. Lemasters piano-playing pairs with raw lyricism to create a vulnerability that feels almost forbidden: ‘I'm way too in my head // I try not to punch it red // Could you hold it instead and tell me that it's over now?’.
Produced by multi-Grammy Award winner Ariel Rechtshaid, this album feels like a natural progression for Wallows. Minnette said of the album: “We stopped overthinking everything and decided to just share the 10 best songs that represent who we are at this moment, because that’s all that really matters.”
8.5/10
Starting off in Seattle on April 1, 2022, the band is set to tour to mark the release of ‘Tell Me That It’s Over’. They have also announced UK, Europe, Australia & New Zealand tour dates,
