Nothing Happens

by Wallows

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

LA trio Wallows' debut album, Nothing Happens, is an effortlessly cool and instantly likeable album that will have you humming along long after the music stops. Channeling '80s dream pop and fusing it with indie rock, this is the sort of album you will want to play for all of your friends. Fun Fact: Band Member and actor Dylan Minnette had a starring role on the teen drama 13 Reasons Why.

A trio of childhood friends who had been playing music together since they were middle-schoolers, Wallows made their debut under the moniker with a handful of stand-alone singles in 2017. The first one, "Pleaser," went viral and was followed by a major-label recording contract. These quick successes were almost certainly helped along by press coverage surrounding lead singer/guitarist Dylan Minnette, who had just premiered as the lead in the first season of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. (Bandmate Braeden Lemasters is also an experienced screen actor.) On their full-length debut, Nothing Happens, the group prove that they're more than mere dilettantes with a combination of memorable melodies, catchy rhythms, often stirring harmonic progressions, and just enough lyrical depth to silence many doubters. An exception to the latter may be the playful "Scrawny," whose repeated "I'm a scrawny motherfucker with a cool hairstyle" serves as the chorus. Led by Minnette's deadpan, take-it-in-stride delivery, its self-depreciating, hooky power pop and weightier verses may still win over many put off by its anthem. Other songs grapple with saying the right thing, trying to connect, finding a place in the world, and other anxieties of young adulthood that don't necessarily get better with age. In the two years since "Pleaser," they've doubled down on influences including post-punk (the infectious "Only Friend"), power pop, and the Strokes but minus all the attitude. Lead single and album highlight "Are You Bored Yet?" features bedroom pop starlet Clairo and neatly combines '80s-evoking keyboard timbres, a sweet melody, existentialism, and a plea for honesty in an under-three-minute package seemingly addressed to Generation Z. Taken together, though, Nothing Happens is relatable to a Zeitgeist as much as an age group and shouldn't be missed by those with a certain melancholy-pop sensibility. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/22/2019
Label:	Atlantic
UPC:	0075678653988

Tracks

1. Only Friend
2. Treacherous Doctor
3. Sidelines
4. Are You Bored Yet?
5. Scrawny
6. Ice Cold Pool
7. Worlds Apart
8. What You Like
9. Remember When
10. I'm Full
11. Do Not Wait

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Wallows   Primary Artist
John Congleton   Bass,Guitar,Synthesizer,Synthesizer Bass
Henry Solomon   Sax (Tenor)
Henry Soloman   Sax (Tenor)
Braeden Lemasters   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion,Synthesizer,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Cole Preston   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Mellotron,Percussion,Synthesizer,Guitar (Electric)
Dylan Minnette   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Mellotron,Percussion,Synthesizer,Synthesizer Bass,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Clairo   Featured Artist
Danny Ferenbach   Trumpet
Edward Evans   Trumpet
Ivan Malespin   Trombone

Technical Credits

Tchad Blake   Mixing
John Congleton   Engineer,Producer,Drum Programming
Joe LaPorta   Engineer,Mastering
Alexis Gross   Tray Photo,Photography
Stefan Mac   Engineer
Sean Cook   Engineer
Ashwin Torke   Engineer
Braeden Lemasters   Composer,Group Member,Horn Arrangements
Cole Preston   Composer,Group Member,Horn Arrangements
Dylan Minnette   Composer,Group Member
Wallows   Cover Photo,Art Direction
Claire Cottrill   Composer
Hannah Gross   A&R
Hernan Ayala   Design,Art Direction