Written by Emily Lutz
Indie trio Wallows has learned to overcome a feat that no one in the music industry was ever expecting to go through in our lifetime. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a lot from many of us, but in this case, we got something amazing that would have never existed if not for our time in quarantine.
Wallows has a new sound, but if you have yet to listen to any of their newest releases, here’s a spoiler: they absolutely crushed it. They’re pushing the boundaries and having a great time experimenting with their typical style.
Not only have they managed to do this, but they managed to do it, well, remotely; Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters, and Cole Preston took to the iPhones' voice memo apps to record vocals and used FaceTime to work collectively. Without seeing one another during the EP’s completion, they proved their desire and dedication to not only music, but to their fans as well.
The EP starts out with the single “Virtual Aerobics”, a song discussing the mindset of a new relationship and the perfect start to a new project. It’s super fun and catchy, and now that the EP has been released, it’s definitely in the right position to draw everyone into the rest of the songs.
Next up is “Dig What You Dug.” The beginning instrumentals make me feel like I’m at a party with a lot of strobe lights, however, the sudden stop of those instrumentals is like being thrown back into reality.
On my first listen, I absolutely fell in love with this song. It’s groovy and makes you want to dance around for hours making it impossible to listen to this track without absolutely jamming out and serving as a reminder to just be yourself instead of appeasing others.
Continuing on, we have the first single off of the EP, “Nobody Gets Me (Like You).” This peppy love song caught all of our attention in the absolute best way possible as the band began their transition into a new section of their genre.
Track four, "Coastlines", shows a more vulnerable side of the group. While this song has been a couple of years in the making, frontman Dylan Minnette says, “It was originally about wanting time off and wanting time with someone you love at home. What’s funny is we completed it at a time when I was totally at home.”
The transition into the next song, “Talk Like That,” is absolutely flawless. As soon as the vocals kicked in, I knew right away that this would be my favorite song on the EP; it's so diverting and unforgettable. The chorus of this song, “Cut my heart in half, give it back when you talk like that / Probably all in all, if they call, get a heart attack”, is so perky and animated, it just might be my favorite part of the entire EP.
Wallows finishes out the EP with “Wish Me Luck.” While the majority of the release has been fun and upbeat, this brings us down a different path.
It slows down a lot, and it really hits home lyrically. Drummer Cole Preston explains, “It’s the most emphatic Wallows song, like the most dramatic-feeling Wallows song to me.”
My favorite lyrics in this song would be, “I don’t wanna lose myself to all my insecurities / If I told you all of them, who would it hurt more, you or me?”, and “Holdin’ back, you can’t know what’s in my head.” I really understand that feeling of bottling everything in and wanting to deal with it myself instead of discussing it with someone else.
They couldn’t have chosen a better song to close out with. The repeated chorus at the end, “I’ll be fine if we turn out the lights / I’m alright, I’ll be fine / If we turn out the lights” is even somewhat comforting.
Wallows blew us away with "Remote", and you can experience it yourself wherever you stream music. Coupled with this release, the trio has a week-long event list including Q&As on Twitter and Reddit, wrapping up with an acoustic session on TikTok.
You can find more details about all these events and more by following the band on Twitter @wallowsmusic. Also, don’t forget to check out the newest “Remote” merch! Let us know how you felt about the new Wallows sound and your favorite song off of the EP by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw.
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