By Andre Paras and Mia Shea
Video Editor and Correspondent
“More” is the latest EP from the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band Wallows. This record acts as a deluxe version of their latest release, “Model,” from 2024.
“And we left off some of our best songs [on Model],” said lead singer Dylan Minnette in an interview with Wonderland Magazine in May 2024. “But we will give them to people at some point when the time is right. And when you hear those songs together, it makes sense they’re not on this.”
Coming in at seven tracks, “More” is also having a special limited vinyl release, exclusive to Record Store Day 2025 on April 12. This is far from the first time this group has helped support local music stores on this day. Wallows has guaranteed stock for just about all of their released works for Record Store Day for the past seven years in a row, incentivizing their fans to go out and support local businesses and their music in the process.
The record opens with the track “Not Alone,” setting the tone for this pop, alternative-rock, indie blend that Wallows fans have grown accustomed to.
“Your New Favorite Song” was the first single from this record, and in its musical engineering continues the band’s work with Grammy award-winning producer John Congleton. Sonically, this track is scaled back and slower than the rest of the record, making it a stand-out.
Musically, it’s a peaceful yet familiar extension upon their typical indie-pop sound. Predominantly, it features smooth horns, intricate acoustic and electric guitar riffs throughout, as well as a bittersweet lyrical and vocal performance from Minnette.
Along with the release of the EP, Wallows also premiered the music video for “Hide It Away,” track four on “More.” It is a simple yet stylish music video showcasing an edited performance of the band, featuring old digital aesthetics and ending with a big strobe breakdown. In the video, the band repped bright, vivid outfits and looked straight out of an Urban Outfitters commercial.
In sound though, “Hide It Away” is heavily reminiscent of the sound of The Strokes’ early discography, an influence the band has cited in an interview with LPM Music. The band also covered The Strokes’ song “Someday” live in concert, according to user Wallows Media on X.
The mix of “Hide It Away” features a more raw drum sound and a half-spoken, half-melodic lo-fi sound with Minnette’s vocals.
The band released another single from “More” titled “Coffin Change” on Feb. 20 of this year. This track explores the meaning of life, and the price to pay for living alone fulfillingly. Minnette taps into this passionate, shouty and introspective refrain over the beach-rock-esque sound of the track.
“Learn to Love Again” begins deceivingly as a piano-driven ballad, but reveals its dynamics by abruptly becoming a full band track, then going in for a fast tempo change for the final chorus. Lyrically, it’s a plea from Minnette to a supposed lover to have them let go of their shame to return back to romance, with a notable literary reference on the line, “Take off that scarlet letter.”
The record closes with “Deep Dive - Reprise,” a continuation of track two, “Deep Dive.” This reprise, however, might not have been the strongest choice for the closer because it truly is just a continuation of what we heard earlier. It doesn’t separate itself in its sound all too much or justify its placement on the record too well, and this is the only track that was forgettable from “More.”
Still, as a small collection of b-sides, Wallows continues to put out more quality tracks that many other clones of the indie scene strive to put out with half the quality. It’s short, cohesive and the tracks flow both in their similar ideas and literal transitions, such as the switch from “Coffin Change” to “Hide It Away.”
It may not be groundbreaking or anything too out of the ordinary for Wallows, but still, it effectively gives fans some good tracks to chew on amidst the wait for their next full length LP. In an age of an overwhelmingly saturated market of deluxe albums and variants, “More” is worth a listen.
