ALBUM REVIEW: Wallows, Nothing Happens

Artists You Might Like: Declan McKenna, COIN, HUNNY

Recommended Tracks: Are You Bored Yet? (Feat. Clairo), Ice Cold Pool, Do Not Wait

The snowing is melting, the flowers are springing, and Wallows are thriving. It’s time to start thinking of warmer times ahead and what better than listening to the California based band’s newest album Nothing Happens. Heartfelt lyrics laid out in a nostalgic beat that has the listener reminiscing on the good ol’ days hanging out with their friends during summer vacation before snapping back into reality.

The album starts out with an introductory track called “Only Friend” about the loss of youth and transitioning into adulthood. The track feels like an ode to their previous EP Spring which was full of youth and hopefulness. The beginning lines “Weathered and faded / who feels alone in the world? / you do / too complicated / it’s not the same anymore / you’re through” captures that doubt young people have about finally starting out in adulthood. The track ends with an organ playing which transitions right into the next track.

The next track “Treacherous Doctor” has darker lyrics that are masked by the upbeat and happy sound. Vocalist and guitarist Braeden Lemasters has talked about how the band wanted to discuss the insecurities about growing up and wanted the song to be pessimistic. The track feels like when everything is going wrong on the inside but act fine and happy on the outside. The third track on the album “Sidelines” shows a love life that is getting complicated by the minute. Braeden sings “I know I drew the line / can we erase it? / we’re living in denial / but we can change this / and I drove all night until I started to cry / all because I saw a world without you and I / don’t let this conversation die” which paints the picture of a crumbling relationship. He is worrying about how the person he loves is falling in love with someone new and turning into someone he doesn’t even know anymore.

But the complicated relationships don’t stop there. In their lead single for their album “Are You Bored Yet” ft. Clairo goes even more in depth about that. What Wallows was trying to achieve within this song was showing the idea of someone who is bored within a relationship that they’ve been in for awhile. But at the same time they are afraid that they or the other person involved is ready to move on. The mixture of Dylan Minnette’s and Clairo’s voices harmonizing while singing “‘Cause we could stay at home and watch the sunset / but I can’t help from asking, ‘Are you bored yet?’ / and if you’re feeling lonely you should tell me / before this ends up as another memory / will you tell the truth so I don’t have to lie? / will you tell the truth so I don’t have to lie?” represents that pain and sadness of falling out of love.

One of my favorite songs on the album would be the fifth track, “Scrawny.” The track is a small interlude from all the other serious themes throughout their album. The song is just what the title and lyrics suggests, a scrawny guy with a cool hairstyle. My favorite part of the song would be the last 30 seconds from the bridge to the end where the beat picks up and the guitar riffs start. The line “I can still have wisdom and look like a child” shows that even though we are still young, we still know what’s going on and can be educated.

Following that upbeat song would come my other favorite song on the album, “Ice Cold Pool.” Full of nostalgic feelings about childhood and being unsure about what is going to happen next. That is captured in their lyrics “The gate was closed, we know that we’re too old / the pool is cold, the pool is cold.” I personally love the track because it incorporates some lyrics of one of their songs “Underneath the Streetlights in the Winter Outside Your House.” When I first heard “Ice Cold Pool” and heard those lyrics from their other song, I felt like jumping up and down with joy, like what a cool thing to do.

The final track, “Do Not Wait” is a slower track at first with a heartbeat in the background to represent the worries and stress of adulthood. The song ties together all of the themes throughout their album about that even though we are getting older, we are going to be okay. The track pays homage to the title of the album throughout with lyrics such as “Something you’ll want to forget (Nothing Happens) / Your parents will eventually separate (Nothing Happens)”. Dylan Minnette talked in an interview with Substream Magazine about the song being about how no matter what goes on within your life, no matter what feels like a huge deal at the time, nothing really happened and there’s so much more to look forward to and that everything is going to be good. By the end of the album the listeners will feel just that, hopeful futures are in everyone’s future and even though life may seem scary, nothing really happens, you’ll be okay.

Nothing Happens by Wallows was definitely a statement that was made with this being their debut album. A rollercoaster of emotions that has the listener reminiscing about childhood and about how we are all on this journey of life together, we might as well enjoy it.

You can listen to Nothing Happens on any streaming service including Spotify and Apple Music.

Wallows is kicking off their tour this April, you can check out the dates on their website here.

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