Wallows hasn’t put a (collective) foot wrong since debuting with 2018’s Spring EP. That calling card was followed by an equally great, but sonically very different, album called Nothing Happens, which features the unstoppable “Are You Bored Yet?” — a song that is still generating huge streaming numbers. Instead of taking a well-earned break while America crashes and burns, the alt-pop/rock trio decided to funnel their creative energy into a new project, the just-released Remote, which, as the title suggests was largely put together through their phones and laptops.
And while there are no obvious references to the doom and gloom of 2020, there’s a melancholy and inherent nostalgia that feels strangely of the moment. Thematically, however, Wallows is more concerned with matters of the heart. “Virtual Aerobics” is a two-minute blast of young love, while “Coastlines” examines the tyranny of distance. It’s hard to speak of highlights on an EP this consistently great, but “Wish Me Luck” is a devastatingly relatable anthem about not being able to open up, while “Nobody Gets Me (Like You)” remains absolutely irresistible.
“[This] is a special project for us,” Wallows explains in the press release. “We finished it all without seeing each other in person by sending each other voice memos and spending hours chatting on FaceTime. Though the lyrics don’t reflect on or reference our time staying at home, the music wouldn’t have turned out the way it did if not for quarantine. Big love to our producers and friends Sachi DiSerafino and John DeBold for working around the clock with us. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.” Listen below and pre-order a physical copy here.