Wallows — Tell Me That It’s Over? I sure hope it was — Album Review
The rock band’s sophomore offered quite the musical variety, yet it couldn’t save it from sounding interesting.
Wallows is an alternative rock band composed of Cole Preston, Braeden Lemasters, and Dylan Minette, most known as Clay from 13 Reasons Why.
To get this out of the way, I was quite the fan of their debut Nothing Happens (2019), the album has got some solid hooks and does well for its hazy instrumentation.
Now what about their second record released March 25th, Tell Me That It’s Over? After numerous listens, I still wished it was over.
Hear me out, okay?
It wasn’t easy describing my final word. Is it good? Is it bad? I didn’t know half the time. I wasn’t expecting to have that experience on a Wallows record, who has a more accessible-sounding discography.
On one hand, it has some form of their fuzzy indie rock from their debut, their appealing melodies, and experimentation by adding strings, synths, and different percussion into the mix.
On the other hand, even with my fascination with musicians experimenting on their music, it feels faintly incoherent, and at worst, boring as heck.
Let’s probably arrange it like this:
What I Don’t Like about it:
The record has a tiny slither where they sound like they’re progressing, with its use of saxophones, congas, synths, elements not present on previous songs, but these moments don’t develop as much as I had anticipated.
The opener Hard to Believe starts with just strings and vocals, but once the distorted guitar and loud drums came in it sounded uninteresting, instead just opting for displeasing synths to recall the melody.
It morphs into an ordinary Wallows song by the middle, and I wish that it relied with the strings more to give it a more unique flavor.
The varied styles on various songs are just good on paper when no sense of cohesion resonates whatsoever.
At the End of the Day signals this introspective new wave quality to it, but the song has a rather dull hook.
Then Marvelous comes in with this fast-paced boogie and the vocal delivery feels forced.
After that, Permanent Price combines their indie parade with this folk-bluesy style and they don’t sound well together.
There are 3 or 4 genres happening on different tracks yet none of them sound good altogether, either listening individually or listening to as a whole.
And Don’t get me started on the questionable production choices.
On the outro of Hard to Believe, the drums come in late four notes in, and its volume stays inconsistent throughout.
Why does the harmonica on I Don’t Want to Talk exist? I guess they’re trying to inject some sort of fusion but the harmonica sounds more of a nuisance.
Why is Hurts Me in between the more solemn Missing Out and That’s What I Get. Some records transition well but this one is noticeably off.
And speaking of which, why is there a high-pitched voice whispering at the end of That’s What I Get?
I wish it was whispering Yankee Hotel Foxtrot instead.
What I Like about it:
Well after a while, sometimes the record does click.
And when that happens, Tell Me That It’s Over and Nothing Happens is like The Strokes’ Room on Fire and Is This It.
Basically they’re like two definitive records that equally deliver well.
Singles like I Don’t Want to Talk and Especially You, and maybe At The End of the Day are worth a listen.
The former has this sense of vulnerable angst injected into it, it’s punchy and energetic in the way it talks about feeling so frustrated you just don’t wanna talk about it.
Meanwhile, Especially You is my favorite track here, with intriguing synths and production, along with the catchy hooks from start to finish.
The different styles this record incorporates are actually quite interesting, to say the least.
And adding something new to their sound is great. Imagine if they just stayed at the sound of Spring (EP)(2018) and Nothing Happens (2019)?
To be fair, the strings do return on Hard to Believe, and it returns yet again on tracks like Permanent Price, and the last two songs.
I appreciate that Wallows is doing something different, and overall, I like the delicate and introspective moments on this one.
And with the production, there are still some cool little details sprinkled here and there.
The whaling autotuned post-chorus of Missing Out is actually emotive, substituting the guitar in a way.
Hurts Me is glittery and it’s attractive. I ‘ll never get tired of the new wave revival of the previous decade so that caught my attention easily.
And the closers That’s What I Get and Guitar Romantic Search Adventure are just immaculate and fit well in the track list.
Conclusion
Tell Me That It’s Over had the potential.
It could’ve embodied the small diverse details that made it unique.
I’d have no problem with this record even if it sounded like a complete left-turn from anything they’ve ever done.
That is still a risky move however, and I understand why the band felt the need to compromise. Still keeping their catchy formula, all the while adding a meager dash of experimentation.
Will I come back to the record’s deep cuts? Time will tell, but right now, not really.
Still though, don’t let me or this article stop you from enjoying this record.
This is an extended version of my album review on my Instagram: The Left Ear with Lee. Be sure to follow me on Medium and on Instagram. Thanks!
