The darker tone of the record continues on the next cut, “Anytime, Always.” Originally not one of my favorites from the record, this track has definitely grown on me over repeat listens. While Minnette’s vocal delivery on this one is nowhere near as catchy and memorable as on “Your Apartment” and the jarring guitar/snare strikes at the beginning and end of the track are a bit grating, I still think it’s an interesting track from the group. The fuzzy, post-punk guitar passages and brooding basslines throughout the cut come together in a really sonically pleasing way, especially during the chorus.

Undoubtedly, the next track, “Calling After Me,” is the group’s safest track on the entire record. If someone told me that this song originated during the Nothing Happens or Tell Me That It’s Over album cycles, I wouldn’t even question it. However, this is by no means a bad thing. The joyful, cascading synths, smooth guitar riffs, simple, crisp beat, and bright, catchy vocals on this track are pretty much the group’s bread and butter, showcasing their classic, uniquely vibrant sound and resounding hit-making prowess.

After a strong first leg, the fourth track, “Bad Dream,” marks the first dud for me on this album. Generally speaking, I’ve never been a huge fan of the group’s slower, more ballad-inspired tracks, and this is especially the case with this track. Sonically, “Bad Dream” sounds like a half-baked Djo ripoff. The lackluster beat and dream-pop-inspired guitar passage that plays throughout is fairly one-note and ironically very hypnotizing and pacifying, despite the song’s title. I do, however, enjoy the bright, buzzy synth passage right before the second verse. Sadly, this section is fairly short lived. “Bad Dream” is also pretty lackluster lyrically, with the core phrase of “are you having a bad dream, baby?” in the context of worrying about the potential demise of a romantic relationship sounding like something that could’ve only made it past the drawing board in the context of a cringy late-90s boy-band single.

Model’s trend of fairly surface-level and lovelorn lyrics continues on the next cut, “A Warning.” While no specific lines stick out as downright awful, it was at this point in the record that I really began to take note of how much the group’s lyricism was taking a backseat on this record in comparison to their previous releases. Instrumentally, this track is lacking somewhat as well. Lemasters’ muted guitar riff and Preston’s rudimentary beat kind of blend into the background of this track like beige wallpaper. The synthwork on this one, however, is fantastic, particularly the shimmering, cascading synths that envelop the second verse and outro. Additionally, the vocal harmonies between Minnette and Lemasters throughout the track are a standout, super well-executed and catchy.

Overall, by far my two least favorite cuts from the record come next. “I Wouldn’t Mind,” the first song to be sung by Preston in quite a while, suffers greatly from a lack of the dynamic, catchy vocal delivery that both Minnette and Lemasters have mastered over the years. Instrumentally, this cut feels uncharacteristically skeletal, nonchalant, and half-baked for the group. It almost feels like a fragment of a song that was never finished, especially with the minimal amount of writing and runtime. Meanwhile, “You (Show Me Where My Days Went)” showcases, in my opinion, one of the weakest hooks on the entire record. Instrumentally, everything really seems to blend together on this cut and vocally, Minnette’s delivery feels forced and clunky, especially during the verses.

Luckily, the group is able to recover with another one of my favorites off of the record, “Canada,” a cute and endearing homage to the home country of Minnette’s girlfriend, Isabella Elei. While the hyper-infatuated lyrics on this cut are fairly similar in theme to those on the previous track, the story-telling of “Canada” is much more immersive, interesting, and full of imagery. Unlike many other tracks on the record, the music truly guides the story behind the lyrics, with the staticky drum intro seemingly representing the black-and-white nature of life before meeting “the one” and the slow fade-in and eventual eruption of vibrant synthesizers seemingly representing how colorful life becomes once this person comes walking into your life. Everything from the swelling synths to the ethereal guitar passages to Minnette’s vocal delivery are executed flawlessly on this cut.

Equally as colorful as the previous track, but much darker and brooding in tone, “Don’t You Think It’s Strange?” sees Lemasters at the top of his game when it comes to catchiness both vocally and instrumentally. The whole track has a wonderful early-2000s post-punk vibe to it, with eerie guitar tones, a driving, building beat from Preston, and urgent piano keys that sound vaguely like something that could’ve landed on an early Interpol record. I particularly love the contrast between the sparse pre-chorus right before the bridge and the rest of the track, which showcases one of Preston’s most attention-grabbing drum performances on the entire record.

Apparently one of the group’s favorites from the record, “She’s An Actress” is just fine to me. However, I do have to give them credit, as the minimalist approach to the track sounds nothing like anything else they’ve released to date. I like the drumming from Preston and inclusion of congas on the track, but everything else I’m not a huge fan of. Minnette’s vocal delivery on this cut is by far the least interesting on the entire record, the lyrics aren’t really anything to write home about, and Lemasters’ guitar parts throughout the track sound reminiscent of a broken fax machine.

The next cut, “Going Under,” feels mostly like a misstep to me as well. Instrumentally, the psychedelic mix on Lemasters’ guitar passages and the fuzzy synth swells throughout the track are great, but another lackluster drumming performance from Preston causes the song to feel like it’s just kind of plodding along. Additionally, while Lemasters’ vocal melodies throughout the track are super catchy and memorable, the screamed section in the tail end of the second verse feels a tad bit forced.

Model goes out with a triumphant bang on the final cut, “Only Ecstasy.” Easily having the most anthemic and dynamic hook on the entire record, Minnette’s vocal performance on this track is fantastic. Contrary to a bulk of the rest of the record, the drum performance and lyrical intrigue of this track are top notch as well. The emotional intensity of the track is executed upon perfectly with the subtle building of intensity of everything instrumentally. I particularly love the transition, or, more appropriately, the instrumental explosion, from the bridge into the final chorus. Ultimately, while it’s not my absolute favorite from the record, “Only Ecstasy” ends Model on a strong note on essentially all fronts.

Above all, my biggest gripe with this record has to be how uninspired a lot of the songwriting feels. Sure, Wallows have always been big on writing love songs, but their previous love songs, such as “At the End of the Day” or “Scrawny,” are much more quirky, distinctive, entrancing and instrumentally lavish than pretty much anything that lands on Model. Additionally, they used to dabble in themes beyond love, such as existentialism, wasted youth, and concern for the future of society, all of which I feel like the group excelled at and is missing entirely from Model. The concept of this record seems more disjointed than those on their previous records as well. Model feels more like a simple collection of tracks, rather than a comprehensive body of work. Their previous two records and even their two previous EPs felt like they had more of a clear-cut purpose and creative well of inspiration than Model does.

Thus, all in all, Model does not measure up to Wallows’ previous releases, in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a bunch of tracks I really enjoyed from this record, and generally, I still consider it to be a very enjoyable listen. The synthwork, guitar riffs, and vocal melodies and harmonies are super strong on a majority of the tracks on Model and the group’s understanding of how to build engaging song structures has definitely matured over the years. I just wish that the group pushed themselves more conceptually, lyrically, and instrumentally on this record. Hopefully, the next ‘model’ of Wallows will see the trio returning to experimenting more instrumentally and finding new, compelling inspiration songwriting-wise.

6.5 / 10