With fourteen singles, two EPs, and one album, Wallows is an Indie rock or surf rock band that is currently compared to The Strokes, with great songs such as “Are You Bored Yet?”, “OK”, and “Pleaser”. And if you have no idea who they are, sorry to break it, but you are losing great music, but don’t worry after reading this, you’ll have a new band to dance to.
Friends for a while
Sixteen years ago Brendan Lemasters and Dylan Minette met in Los Angeles when both moved to pursue an acting career, later they realized music was also a common interest. The third member was found a bit later during “Join the band”, a music convention; they met Cole Preston, who had great drumming skills. Since then, the three have been playing together.
Back in 2011, they performed for the first time on Warped Tour, under the name “Feaver”, later changed to“ The Narwhals” but it didn’t stick, and they finally agreed on the name “Wallows”.
“We are so comfortable because we grew up together, and we’re constantly evolving as a band. We also have respect for each other and trust each other”, said Brendan for Reveille.
MeEt the members
Dylan Cristopher Minette (vocalist and guitarist) was born in Evansville, Indiana. Made his first appearance, at the age of nine, in the show Drake & Josh, later appearing in Supernatural (season 4, episode 11) and Grey’s Anatomy (season 4, episode 5). But he got famous while playing Clay in the Netflix show “13 Reasons Why”, full of polemics around the plot.
Born in Warren, Ohio, Brendan Lemasters (vocalist and guitarist) was a voice actor and was nominated for the Young Artist Award for his role in “Men of a Certain Age”.
Finally, but not least, Cole Preston was born in California and is the band’s drummer.
Great hits
In 2017, “Pleaser” was released and quickly became a success, with over six million streams, reaching number two on the Spotify Global viral 50 charts.
Two years later, “Are You Bored Yet?” featuring Clairo was released, becoming their biggest hit, with more than 100 million streams. In an interview for genius, the band said the song is about going through relationships while you’re young. ‘That’s sort of what the song is about in wondering if your partner feels the same way.’
In the chorus, “Cause we can stay at home or watch the sunset or watch the sunset, but I can help by asking are you bored yet?”. Dylan says ‘It’s like we could do this very mundane thing, or we could do this most cliché, romantic thing, we can do whatever, but I can’t get the question off my brain, are you bored yet?’
Albums
Nothing Happens was their debut album. Released in 2019, the album begins with the song “Only Friend”, which talks about losing innocence, figuring out your identity together with finding your place in the world. Followed by the song “Scrawny”, “Remember When” the album ends with the track “Do Not Wait”, remembering that everyone goes through overwhelming situations, and it’s worth going through it.
In summary, the album talks about how young romance works or not in a moment where communication is scarce.
Coming out on March 25, “Tell Me That It’s Over” is their second album, featuring the new track “Especially You”. During an interview for NME Dylan said “It’s about when you’re in the early stages of a relationship, and you get so worried that the other person’s mind will change at the flip of a switch” “It’s about stressing over the smallest things for no reason, but it’s self-aware about the fact that I’m doing this all to myself.” The album promises indie-folk to lo-fi post-punk and bit of 90s dance-pop time of music.
But really, why should you listen to them?
As mentioned before, Wallows works with huge style diversity, with reflexive, upbeat, and sad songs. They also are very creative when it comes to video clips, using a lot of green screens, and creating stories. You must check out “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” and ‘Treacherous Doctor’.
Not to mention that all the members are charismatic, funny, and very friendly to their fans, and if you are a teenager, there is a high chance of identifying yourself with their lyrics.
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The article above was written by Beatriz Gatz and edited by Giullia Cartaxo. Liked this type of content? Check out Her Campus Casper Libero for more!