It’s not easy to stand out as an L.A. indie band who sing about relationships and insecurity. Of course, Wallows have little to prove about their ability to hold the attention of a crowd—the band’s second LP Tell Me That It’s Over comes ahead of a world tour with a sizable number of dates already sold out, and a platinum-selling single “Are You Bored Yet?” (feat. Clairo) already under their belts from their debut album, 2019’s Nothing Happens. With their sophomore album, Wallows once again flaunt their talent for crafting a dynamic and gripping sound amid their quest to overcome their own anxieties and self-doubts.
Tell Me That It’s Over flows in a way that verges on cinematic, being almost perfectly bookended with rich string arrangements on opener “Hard to Believe” and penultimate track “That’s What I Get.” The bold cello strikes that introduce this album set the tone for the broad range of unexpected sonic influences that make each song distinct and attention-grabbing.
Wallows reach a high point with the LP’s third single “At the End of the Day.” Creeping in with a somber, dark wave-esque electronic beat, glittering synths brighten the track into a bittersweet plea against the fear that even a relationship that’s going well is doomed to fail. The song accomplishes all of this alongside some of Dylan Minnette’s finest vocal work on the album, landing a perfect delicacy on lyrics like, “At first you made me nervous, I could hardly speak / I don’t really think about it anymore / Is that a problem or just something to ignore?”
Going from the ethereal textures of “At the End of the Day” into “Marvelous” is about as jarring as the flow of this album gets. The exuberant latter track, while having plenty of points of interest on the production side, including weaving in the sounds of a chattering crowd to create a lively atmosphere, is the LP’s weakest song. The screeching guitars and high repetition—the chorus makes up about half the song’s two-and-a-half-minute listening time—pushes “Marvelous” just across the border between catchy and tiresome.