Edinburgh’s O2 Academy hosted Wallows for their highly anticipated world tour on the 15th of October.
The American alternative rock band based in Los Angeles became “Wallows” in 2017 after the release of “Pleaser” which became a hit across the globe. Their indie music style consists of an ‘80’s inspired synth-pop sound’ which they consistently adhere to on their newest album ‘Model’, released in early May of this year.
This was my first time visiting the Edinburgh venue and while its appearance is a deceivingly small old fashioned brick building, inside it’s an intimate space that invited Wallows to yet another Scottish crowd.
The band opened with “I’m Full” with purple lights flashing to the beat of the chorus. Braeden Lemasters, the lead guitarist, certainly started the night off with his guitar riffs, striking how full of energy the band were on their first night in Edinburgh.
Up next “Scrawny”, their well known song played and at its end, Dylan Minnette, the bands lead singer, briefly spoke about Scottish crowds being ‘crazy in shows’ which only caused more interaction in the crowd for the rest of the night.
“Canada” from the new album was one of my personal favourites. I loved the use of pink and red lights during the song, ultimately making the performance so crushingly romantic.
Throughout the night, the band’s playful banter with the crowd was light hearted and fun, showing the band members undeniable chemistry with their fan base. Cole Preston, the group’s drummer, kept the crowd engaged; “You know what I had this morning? A sausage roll from Greggs”, I instantly had flashbacks to their set at the O2 Academy Glasgow last year when Dylan wore a Scottish traditional kilt.
The band took a brief pause while the lights went off to quickly set up on stage, consisting of a lamp and chairs where they told the audience, “This is our bedroom”. They created an intimate space on stage that was so appealing to their fan base, it connected the audience with the band members and that’s a beautiful thing for artists to achieve. They had a starry night backdrop which made the stage look so comforting and set the tone for what was to follow.
They performed three songs in their ‘bedroom’ scene set up, “1980s Horror Film II”, “Drunk on Halloween” where they had orange lights flickering matching the halloween theme and most excitingly, an acoustic rendition of “OK” which was the perfect vibe for the setting. I found myself looking at the people in the audience around me and everyone had their phones swaying in the air with flash lights on, you could feel the intimacy in the atmosphere.
They reverted back to their original stage for the last few songs; “I Don’t Want To Talk”, this was definitely one of the upbeat and lively songs they played. Dylan used a harmonica for the iconic post chorus section in the track and the ceiling flashed blue and red which was such a cool element.
The crowd chanted “one more song” as Wallows left the stage and shortly made their return for one more song, “Are You Bored Yet?” – the crowd was singing and dancing along to the popular song, as was I. The live performance of the renowned song was incredible and I only hope to see it again in their next embark to another Scottish city.