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With the success of their debut album, “Nothing Happens,” it was about time that alternative indie band Wallows released new content to satisfy their eager fans. With a year and a half spent in quarantine, Wallows released their most experimental album yet: “Remote” EP.
For most artists, it is almost a rite of passage to go through at least one extremely experimental era. Country singer turned pop artist Taylor Swift has gone through multiple genres of music through her “Fearless,” “Red,” “Reputation,” and “Folklore” eras. Rapper Tyler, the Creator is starting to shift toward rawer and more personal lyrical content starting with his 2017 release “Flower Boy.” The experimental album has become a tool to mark the growth of an artist or band, even if it means beginning to stray away from the sound that got them famous in the first place.
While experimental albums can be welcomed with praise and acclaim from both critics and fans, they can also easily be defined as a misfire instead. Experimental albums are easy to be dismissed and declared either the weakest or worst a band or artist has put out. However, with that in mind, rather than compare experimental albums with an artist’s or band’s previous work, fans should instead look to them with openness toward the possible directions their favorite band or artist can go.
Who Is Wallows?
Wallows is a three-piece alternative indie band consisting of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters, and Cole Preston. All three members met when they were kids, and continued playing under numerous names, including Feaver, Join the Band, and The Narwhals, before settling with Wallows.
Wallows’ beginnings started when the band released a series of four singles best known for their simplistic cover art featuring an abstract photo, the title of the song, and a white frame surrounding it. The four singles: “Pleaser,” “Sun Tan,” “Uncomfortable,” and “Pulling Leaves Off Trees” received considerable attention, and the band released their first EP titled “Spring” shortly after being signed with a major label.
Despite lead vocalists Minnette (best known for his role as Clay Jensen in 13 Reasons Why [2017-2020; Brian Yorkey]) and Lemasters’ (best known for his role as Trevor Askill in T@gged [2016-2018; Hannah Macpherson]) success in their acting careers at the time, “Spring” EP’s success lead to the release of Wallows’ debut album “Nothing Happens” a year later. Their first single, “Are You Bored Yet?” featuring bedroom pop (a genre of indie music that is intended to sound like it was recorded in an artist’s bedroom versus a professional studio), star Clairo became a hit due to its popularity on the app Tik Tok. The entire album received positive reviews from fans and music critics, as Wallows participated in multiple festivals, late-night television shows, and a “Nothing Happens” tour.
A Product Of Isolation
Given the pandemic’s impact on the music industry, Wallows, along with many other bands and artists, were affected by the restrictions on live shows. Their last release, “OK,” was filmed two days before stay-at-home orders happened. As well, their headline tour and multiple festival appearances were gone in an instant.
In an attempt to make the most of a bad situation, Wallows opted to find new ways to interact with fans while still creating content for them to enjoy. From virtual concerts and Zoom hangouts, according to Lemasters in an interview with LND magazine, “The pandemic has made us realize what we can get done away from each other.” “Remote” EP became the product of what the band managed to do while still adhering to social distancing. The album, which was released in October 2020, was recorded for the most part remotely. Wallows spent most of the album writing and recording separately, relying on Zoom calls, voice memos, and iPhones to develop the album versus collaborating in the studio. As said by Preston (in an article by the Rolling Stones), the band wanted the EP to be a “concise, energetic project” where they would “put their best foot forward.”
“Remote:” The Experiment
“Remote” garnered a mostly positive reception from critics; however many fans refer to it as the band’s most “experimental” album. Some also express their dismay toward the album due to it moving away from the band’s previous sound established by “Spring” EP and continued with “Nothing Happens.” Both albums focus on lyrics about nostalgia, growing older, and the burdens of being young; and featured guitar riffs echoing The Strokes, crashing drums, and smooth transitions for the perfect front-to-back listen-through.
While “Remote” still captures some of these elements, the sound differences are easy to catch. Both “Nothing Happens,” and “Spring” EP take on more of an alternative edge; however, “Remote” takes on more of an electronic one. As well, “Nothing Happens” relies heavily on aggressive drums and guitars to get the feeling they’ve come out of a coming-of-age soundtrack, “Remote” uses keyboards and effects to get a different feeling more akin to 2000’s pop.
Even the inspirations for both albums differ. While “Nothing Happens” takes from bands such as Two Door Cinema, The Strokes, and classic rock artists like Led Zepplin and The Smiths, “Remote” still has their alternative sound but also reaches into pop and some R&B elements similar to the Backstreet Boys and Glass Animals. Each album reflects the diverse music taste that each Wallows member has based on their end-of-the-year best-of playlists.
A Reflection Of Where They’re At
In a Reddit Q&A from the band after the release of “Remote,” when asked about “Remote” matching the sound of their second album, Dylan Minnette responded with the following:
“Honestly we’re more “Wallows” now than ever before. We’re making music that is much truer to our taste and more in line with what we’ve always hoped to accomplish. “Remote” is by far my favorite project we’ve made yet for so many reasons. That being said though, I do still listen to “NH” and “Spring” and really appreciate them, because they were definitely reflective of that place and time in our lives/careers, and reflective of us doing the best we could with the means we had…
From day one though, we have never wanted to “look back” or make the same project twice. So, I think Wallows will forever be evolving.”
Dylan minnette
While all critiques for “Remote” are valid, we should acknowledge that there is merit when it comes to more experimental albums, whether it feels like a hit or a miss. While some fans are unhappy with this new direction in Wallows’ sound, it does show that this is a band that is willing and even eager to venture out of their roots and see what can work for them rather than stay stagnant.
Keeping this in mind, rather than use Wallows’ previous work as a measurement for how well their future work sounds, listeners should instead take what they enjoy from that era and less aggressively apply it as a point of reference for future albums. As well, keep in mind the time, place, and situation of the band or artists in each new piece of work. While it is easy to get lost in the music, a listener should acknowledge that most artists grow alongside their work.
Wallows are a prime example of this. When “Spring” EP and “Nothing Happens” were released, both albums were able to represent where the band was both musically and personally. “Spring” EP, for example, sounds the freshest since it is the band’s first major release beyond their four singles. Each song blossoms with catchy guitar riffs and upbeat tones, with two of the six songs being inspired by films rather than their own experiences. These are all attributes to the band’s status as a group of young guys trying to find their footing in the music industry as well as being in their early twenties.
Similarly, “Nothing Happens” continues some of the musical patterns established in “Spring” but runs with it a bit more. Now a year toward their mid-twenties, Wallows’ guitar and drumbeats read a bit more aggressive. This is best seen in their opening track, “Only Friend,” which begins with a steady background guitar before exploding into a loud drumbeat as Minnette sings, “Pick up the pieces, finding a place in the world to be.” This is just a taste of the band’s shift into a more raw and darker lyrical content as well.
“Nothing Happens” also begins the cycle of the band using transitions into each track, as the drums begin to soften in the background, the guitar in “Only Friend” transitions into the more upbeat rhythm as it opens up the sanguine sounding but still lyrically dark second track “Treacherous Doctor.” “Remote” EP takes on all these things but is also aware of its given circumstances: a global pandemic and the boys approaching their mid-twenties. While it’s easy to play off the sound of “Remote” being seemingly patchworked due to the lack of access to a recording studio together because of stay-at-home orders, “Remote” still manages to attempt to capture Wallows’ trademark attributes.
For example, the smooth transitions that were a bit more subtle in “Nothing Happens” can still be found in “Remote’s” “Dig What You Dug” as the instruments soften and Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.’s voice breaks through muttering a short “Dig what you dug” monologue. As soon as he finishes, the guitar shifts into the upbeat “Nobody Gets Me (Like You).” This gentle fade-out and fade-in pattern continues all the way through “Talk Like That,” which finishes with another voiceover about “switching the station” and into the most somber song on the album “Wish Me Luck.” Lyrically, “Remote” also proves itself as less anxiety-ridden than “Nothing Happens.” This can be attributed to the members growing older. While lyrics in both albums discuss topics such as love and longing for someone, unlike “Nothing Happens,” where the narrator’s voice is timid, in “Remote,” he is more direct with the feelings he wants to discuss.
Two songs that best represent this growth are “Are You Bored Yet?” and “Coastlines.” Both songs, which are featured on “Nothing Happens” and “Remote,” respectively, talk about relationship issues. In “Are You Bored Yet?” the lyrics describe a couple beating around the bush and trying to just speak their struggles into existence. On the other hand, “Coastlines” has lead vocalist, Minnette, openly expressing his avoidance of the issue but also addressing what it is that’s on his mind. This change marks the growth of the band as people and musicians, as well as how their experiences reflect that change.
The Merit Of Experimental Albums
While experimental albums like “Remote” may not be a fan favorite, albums that intend to stray away from the original sound of a band or artist shouldn’t be dismissed. Rather, they should be looked at through a new lens. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to listen to an album, love it, and want more of it – but it’s also asking a lot for an artist or band not to take the opportunity to grow. Rather than look at experimental albums as ways a band is trying to escape what got them their fanbase, we as listeners should see them as opportunities for them to develop, grow, and expand their range and reflect their current positions in life – and allow our appreciation of an experimental album to go beyond whether or not it’s like the last release.
As for Wallows, the band is teasing the soon-to-be release of their second album. However, it looks as if they have no plans to back down from continuing to try new things out. In the same Reddit Q&A, when asked if they would experiment with different music styles in the future, the band replied with: “Wallows will forever evolve and never look back.”
