By Abigail Connolly

So-Cal band Wallows (“Remember When”) released their sophomore studio album that leaves listeners looking for something more. 

Formed initially in 2011 under the name “Join the Band,” band members Braeden Lemasters, guitar and vocals, Cole Preston, guitar and drums, and Dylan Minnett, guitar and vocals, enrolled in the GigMaterz program at the Keyboard Galleria Music Center. The band played in the 2011 Warped Tour before changing their name to Feaver and eventually Wallows.  The alternative rock band first made a name for themselves in 2017 with their first single, “Pleaser,” which reached number two on Spotify’s “Global Viral 50” chart. The group’s most notable track is the 2019 album-single “Are You Bored Yet? (feat. Clairo)” which has since gone platinum twice since its release. 

The group’s first studio album, “Nothing Happens,” was released in 2019 and met with positive reviews. Bouncing between a bedroom pop and alternative rock feel, Wallows managed to create a unique sound that could captivate audiences. With the release of “Tell Me That It’s Over,” it seems that Wallows has managed to deeply follow the path of the unique. 

In the first track, “Hard to Believe,” the group is featuring electronic, ambient sounds, unlike anything that they have produced before. There is an understanding that the lyrics are meaningful and well chosen, but it is hard to get past the dissonance created by the wailing guitar and synthetic sounds. This song was a bold choice to place at the beginning of the album especially since the beginning of the song sounds so disconnected. 

The second track falls back into a more connected Wallows, featuring a new touch of harmonicas in addition to the signature backbeat found in many of their songs. Wallows has a unique talent of creating deeply personal and pointed lyrics like, “felt off by what I saw there/ him in the leopard pattern coat/ that you wished you’d shared,” that blend well with the more echoey, distant sound of their instrumentals. 

There is a delicate balance between creating a new unique dissonant sound that is compelling and one that is off putting. Unfortunately, Wallows has created an album that has not quite found that balance. The group has had great success in the past, and a desire to move forward should not keep them there, but it might help to dig back into those roots to create a truly memorable album. 

Image from Wallows via YouTube