As legend has it, the three friends that comprise the SoCal alt-rock group Wallows joined forces simply over a mutual love of music. But from listening to the songs they’ve created—notably their major-label debut, last spring’s Spring—it’s impossible to tell exactly which artists they bonded over. Their standout single “Pictures of Girls” recalls last decade’s New York City–centered indie boom, while the EP’s additional five tracks weave in and out of sunny West Coast vibes and ’80s New Wave synthesization.
In merging a number of these influences, Wallows are now premiering a morning-after ballad for last night’s Halloween party. “Drunk on Halloween” plays soothing acoustic guitar against a grandiose horn section, all soundtracking a harmony of post-party maturity in the recitation of “I know you better now”s closing the track largely indebted to late-period The Walkmen.
“The song came together pretty quickly in [drummer Cole Preston]’s bedroom one day while we were recording demos,” say singer/guitarist, self-professed Halloween IV enthusiast, and confirmed 1980s horror film–lover Braeden Lemasters. “The only part we had written was the chorus melody. It started to take on a life of its own—musically and lyrically—and ended up forming into a classic tale of heartbreak, but with the backdrop of a Halloween party.”
