Wallows ready to rock Hinterland festival near St. Charles

For Wallows, the pandemic turned out to be a very good thing. Not that the Los Angeles alternative rock trio enjoyed being locked down. But, working as best they could, they made the biggest jump forward in the 11 years they had been together.

That jump can be heard on “Tell Me That It’s Over,” the album the trio recorded during the pandemic and experienced in person in their largest tour, which included a prime slot at last summer’s Lollapalooza. This summer, the band will help close out the three-day Hinterland Music Festival by performing at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, in the venue just outside of St. Charles, south of Des Moines. Camping and shuttles are available.

“It’s weird,” guitarist/singer Braeden Lemasters said of the 2022 Lollapalooza gig in Chicago. “We went from playing first up at noon — our first festival was Lollapalooza in 2018 and we were the first band on the smallest stage — to seeing our name on the top line.

“We’re very, very excited,” he added. “Our biggest growth happened during the pandemic, during lockdown. Coming out of lockdown, we just have some great opportunities.”

That wasn’t exactly what the trio expected when Lemasters, Dylan Minnette (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and drummer Cole Preston began the process of making what became “Tell Me That It’s Over” in January 2021.

“I remember when we first started seeing each other at Cole’s house,” Lemasters said. “It was an interesting, fun time. We didn’t see each other for a year, it felt like. It didn’t have an effect on the songs. We were writing them before the lockdown. But if it hadn’t been done during then, the record would be different.”

The songs the trio worked at Preston’s home were recorded in person, all in the same room, with producer Ariel Rechtshaid.

“The four of us were like this unstoppable train of inspiration, then it was working things out and trying new things.” Minnette said. “Ariel is next level. Every single take he brought in something new or fresh, that we hadn’t thought of in some way.”

Inspired by “Pinkerton”-era Weezer, The Beatles, The Clash and “Pet Sounds”-era Beach Boys, Wallows and Rechtshaid crafted an album of melodic, dynamic pop songs that incorporate synths and electronics along with the guitars, bass and drums of their 2019 debut “Nothing Happens.”

To take the album on the road, Wallows has had to add an extra member to the touring band to fill out the lush synth sounds, and they’re using some light tracks for things that can't be played live.

That said, Wallows isn’t all that much different live than it was a dozen years ago when the three put together their first band or in 2017 when they officially became Wallows.

“It’s still, I’d say, a rock ’n’ roll show,” Minnette said. “A lot of the songs are a little more raw live. In a way, I think they might be brought to life live even more so than on the album.”

The shows aren’t necessarily going to be dominated by songs from “Tell Me That It’s Over.”

“Even though we have only two proper albums, we have more than 40 songs,” Preston said. “We’ll definitely have a hard decision about what to play. We do a couple of our popular songs, a couple for the super nerdy Wallows fans and we’re pushing the new album so we play those. ... The new songs are going over well live. The kids are very loud singing them.”

As they play shows around the country and have their music streamed and on the radio, Wallows has become one of the handful of contemporary artists who are introducing Generation Z to rock.

“Rock has been around for the last 50 years. In terms of people hearing it, sometimes it goes under and then people bring it back,” Lemasters said. “When you asked that, I was thinking of Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, just like you said. Maybe it’s catching on because it’s packaged in pop. There are melodies that people can sing along with.

“My other theory is simple,” he said. “All these kids are hearing it for the first time, just like I did when I heard The Strokes when I was 12 to 15.”

Minnette and Lemasters are each actors — Minnette best known for the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why” and Lemasters for TNT’s “Men of a Certain Age.” Conflicts with their acting commitments have foreshortened previous tours. But this year, it’s full go for the band.

“We did pretty intensive tours before,” Minnette said. “But not as many shows as we’re doing (on this cycle). ... We’re in such a good place. It’s all Wallows all the time.”