Strip away the polish and Wallows reveal themselves first as a guitar band. Beneath the clean hooks and radio-friendly choruses sits a foundation built on jangle, nervous rhythms, and the quiet anxiety of alternative rock. Their songs are less about pop perfection than about movement guitars circling, drums pushing forward, melodies that never fully settle.
Formed in Los Angeles by Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters, and Cole Preston, Wallows grew out of long-standing friendship rather than scene allegiance. That history shows in the way they play: tight but unflashy, more interested in feel than spectacle.
Beginnings: DIY Guitars and Alt-Rock Instincts
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Before the name Wallows, the band operated as The Narwhals, cutting their teeth on alternative rock shaped by the 1990s. Their early material leaned toward wiry guitar lines, driving bass, and a sense of youthful urgency that owed more to college rock than contemporary pop.
This period wasn’t about attention it was about learning restraint. Songs developed slowly, built around repetition and texture rather than big hooks. Even then, Wallows were drawn to the tension between melody and unease, a balance that would define their later work.
Nothing Happens (2019): Indie Rock in Disguise
While often labelled indie pop, Nothing Happens works best when heard as an indie-rock record with pop clarity. The guitars remain central: clean, chiming, and restless. Drums lock into simple but persistent grooves, giving the songs a forward momentum without ever exploding.
Tracks like “Only Friend” and “Scrawny” thrive on repetition and mood rather than climax. Even “Are You Bored Yet?”, their most recognisable song, is driven less by gloss than by tension its appeal lying in the push-and-pull between detachment and desire.
The album captures a band documenting stasis, boredom, and quiet frustration, all filtered through guitar-driven arrangements that refuse melodrama.
Sharpening the Edges: Tell Me That It’s Over (2022)
On Tell Me That It’s Over, Wallows leaned into more structured songwriting, but the indie-rock core remained intact. Guitars became thicker, sometimes more abrasive, and the emotional tone shifted toward exhaustion rather than uncertainty.
There’s less youthful jitter here, replaced by a heavier sense of emotional weight. Breakups, distance, and miscommunication take centre stage, with songs that feel tighter and more deliberate. While the production is cleaner, the intent feels more inward-looking less about capturing moments, more about understanding them.
Model (2024): Control, Distance, and Texture
With Model, Wallows pull back again, letting texture and atmosphere do more of the work. The album feels cooler and more controlled, favouring restrained guitar tones and steady rhythms over immediate gratification.
Rather than chasing bigger choruses, the band focus on pacing. Songs unfold patiently, sometimes withholding resolution altogether. It’s a record that trusts mood an indie-rock instinct that values space as much as sound.
Lyrically, Model reflects on performance and expectation, not just in relationships but in identity itself. The band sound more aware of how they’re perceived, and more comfortable resisting it.
Where Wallows Are Now
Wallows today occupy an understated corner of modern indie rock. They aren’t revivalists, nor are they chasing genre reinvention. Instead, they work within familiar forms guitars, bass, drums and refine them with patience.
Their evolution isn’t loud. It’s gradual, shaped by control, texture, and emotional restraint. If their early work captured the restlessness of youth, their recent material sits with uncertainty rather than trying to escape it.
At heart, Wallows remain a guitar band one that understands that sometimes the most lasting indie rock doesn’t shout, but lingers.