Wallows Pivot With "Your Apartment" at a Time in Which No Artist Is Assured an Easy Hit

After a two-year hiatus – and their breakout single “Are You Bored Yet?” ft. Clairo recently reaching triple-Platinum status – alt-rock trio Wallows are back with “Your Apartment,” the lead single from their upcoming third album.

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Stream: “Your Apartment” – Wallows

Wallows, a California-based band made up of Dylan Minnette (vocals, guitar), Braeden Lemasters (vocals, guitar), and Cole Preston (vocals, drums) have spent the last seven years refining their West Coast surf-rock sound while adding touches of modern pop and new wave to their repertoire.

“Are You Bored Yet?” the now-ubiquitous pop hit responsible for their ascension within the alt-rock scene, is far from their best song. Far from their best hook.

Far from their best anything, really. What it did was draw eyes and ears to their debut album Nothing Happens, which was stacked with undeniable fan favorites like “Only Friend,” “Treacherous Doctor,” and “Remember When.” Just five years later, Wallows’ fanbase is rabid.

WALLOWS LEAVE BEHIND THEIR INNOCENCE WITHOUT LOSING THEMSELVES

:: INTERVIEW ::

Their follow up, 2022’s Tell Me That It’s Over, failed to score them a hit anywhere near as culturally relevant as “Are You Bored Yet?” or the COVID-era hit “Remember When,” but their audience had grown exponentially. They played four sold out shows at NYC’s Terminal 5 and placed highly on bills for both Coachella and Lollapalooza in 2022.

Even before the release of their newest single “Your Apartment,” out now, a photo of Lemasters and Preston posing in an empty arena, seemingly during a rehearsal, was posted to Instagram. It appears they’re expanding further.

From the opening seconds, “Your Apartment” revisits the sonics of Nothing Happens with an immediate and enticing three-note guitar pattern present throughout the track. Written by Lemasters and primarily sung by Minnette, the most skilled vocalist of the three, this track is one of the purest examples of the bands ability to replicate and accentuate the other’s strengths and styles. Minnette begins with his wistful breathy baritone in the verse, before moving up to the kind of grittier higher tone that he showcased in “I Don’t Want To Talk” from Tell Me That It’s Over.

Your Apartment - Wallows — Your Apartment – Wallows

Containing nontraditional lyric patterns in the verses far removed from the idea of TikTok accessibility, Minnette manages to fit his confused, erratic thoughts surrounding a broken relationship into the chord progressions, needing to alter his phrasing in order to do so:

I wantttt to speak, but you won’t even talkkkk to me
Not until you like… to see all the things we couldddd… be,
and incent-ivize, things that you intern-alize.
I’d rather tell you a lie before predicting what
I-don’t-know-could lead into false hope.

For his side of what is always a two-sided story no matter how you look at it, he plays the role of the seemingly very recently wounded partner attempting to rationalize the decisions of a potentially unfaithful lover.

Sound-wise, “Your Apartment” is a bold first impression for the new project. It’s sullen and more intrusive compared to previous early singles “Are You Bored Yet?” and “Especially You,” the latter of which was mixed even within the fandom. They’re choosing to tell stories from outside of their niche sound palette, leaning more towards artistic expansion than a focus on commercialism.

The music video for the track doubles down on the darker palette, mostly focusing on Minnette working through his anger. Preston and Lemasters make appearances later, but it is clearly an acting assignment for Minnette, who is a proven character actor by trade.

Who said I don’t understand or that
I probably won’t remember
Time in the palm of your hand
We both let go together
But I promise, I get your sentiment
I wonder who’s been at your apartment
Would you give in, or would you relent?
Who’s been tryin’ to get their signal sent?
I promise, I get your sentiment
I wonder who’s been at your apartment
I promise, I get your sentiment
I wonder who’s been at your apartment

In a statement, the band said, “We’re so excited and eager to be releasing music for the first time in nearly two years. It’s the longest we’ve been silent and it feels good to finally be back. This is the first song from our new album that fully came together lyrically quite some time ago, so it feels right that it gets heard first.”

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