If ever there was a more aptly-named COVID quarantine song collection, that band would be hard-pressed to outdo Wallows’ EP Remote. In fact, the production process itself was accomplished via FaceTime and voice memos.
With a debut album produced by GRAMMY award winner John Congleton, Wallows leveraged that momentum to propel themselves past difficulties posed by creating a coherent EP from separate locations.
The band’s melancholy fell between Vampire Weekend and The Smiths, the former for whom Wallows opened. Subsequent lockdowns have presented a film for which this deluxe release could serve as the soundtrack.
The alt-rock trio put together a track triplet with “On Time”, “Quarterback” and “Another Story”. These built on the original six songs, plus standalone variations “OK” and “OK (with Remi Wolf & Solomonophonic)”.
If toothpaste fullness was a love profusion, then “On Time” was a romance where the brusher held a near-wholly curled tube. Gentleman, a seeming amalgamation of members Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters and Cole Preston, recognized his relationship’s looming end. Despite his clinging desperation, she’d mentally checked-out.
Moving forward to “Quarterback”, Gentleman found himself in limbo. There was no official breakup, but she assured him they’d be better apart. When he discovered she’d been hanging out with another guy, he was forced to figure out whether he should be mad, or if he was even allowed.
There’s a high school dance which Gentleman’s ‘girlfriend’ will have attended with that other guy. Dateless in a lame car driven by Grandmother, he, again represented by the band, stressed over the plausibility that said guy would spend the night with her. Spliced between sullenness was the band goofing around in the backyard and out on the street. A dichotomy indicative of a guy laughing to keep from weeping.
Realizing, perhaps for the first time, how his emotional investment was greater than hers. That while she wouldn’t, he’d certainly do anything he could, to salvage what they had. Underscored was that they’re separate people. Lugging those distinct dating predispositions with them, they weren’t ever going to be able to love each other the same at any given time.
If the far left of a love quotient spectrum was Lacking and the right was Overflowing, they’d moved farther away until planted on opposite ends. It could be said that his hard push right precipitated her shift left.
“Another Story” caught Gentleman directly after cemented breakup from the lady at hand. In a vote of false confidence, he pleaded to patch things up. For if they didn’t urgently resuscitate their relationship, time would halt any recovery. As the shortest song among the three, it subconsciously illustrated how Gentleman could only run on fumes for so long.
Having performed at Coachella and Lollapalooza, with 2020 plans to have headlined in countries such as Brazil, Chile, and Argentina, pent-up fan excitement will be unleashed when the deluxe rundown is toured.
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