The Wallpaper | A Review of Somewhere

The Wallpaper is a six piece band hailing from Rochester New York. This relatively unknown band came out with their second album in late February called Somewhere. Their first called Never Never was released back in 2011 and it had a few tracks that were particularly memorable such as Rowboats and Born There. This album leaned more heavily on the musical influences of Neutral Milk Hotel. Which is marginally different from the style that The Wallpaper’s seem to be going for on Somewhere.  The new album is centered more in the vein of a pop alternative style along the lines of The Pixies or if you want a comparison with some contemporaries they are also reminiscent of Band of Horses, The New Pornographers or even Clem Snide.

What gives the songs that populate Somewhere distinction is the tone of the album, it’s pleasant and lighthearted while still maintaining a certain emotional gravity. These unassuming characteristics of the music are what make this band very approachable. The content of the songs range from one to the next but they mostly deal with heartache. The album is called Somewhere but you get the feeling that the sentiment behind the album has more to do with being Anywhere… but here. That sense of restlessness is captured throughout this album in each of its songs, but the ones that excel are Black Holes, Gasoline Rainbows and Better.

The first day of Spring might not be until the 20^th of March but when you hear The Wallpaper’s sophomore album Somewhere you might just start feeling like it has already come.