Live Review: Wallows - O2 Brixton Academy, London 20/08/2025
Wallows make Brixton Academy roar with anthems and more.
Florence Road open up for Wallows on a steamy night at the Brixton Academy, already filled to the rafters and buzzing with excitement. The band also known as Flo Ro are a female quartet from Ireland who have been making waves with their rock, indie and pop sound, having supported Olivia Rodrigo this summer, including at her show in London’s Hyde Park.
The band’s easy charm and enthusiastic live performance gets the energy levels going with their guitar driven sound and poppy lyrics winning them new fans. The Olivia Rodrigo endorsed song ‘Heavy’ is a set highlight, really showing off the folk tinges in singer Lily Aron’s voice, with the pleading refrain ‘Tell me, tell me it's not that heavy, lie to my face and beg me not to cry, say it's alright’ evoking a painful and relatable heartache.
Wallows are in London to play the final headline show of their ‘Model and More’ world tour. Supporting their 2024 third studio album ‘Model’ and 2025 EP ‘More’, the tour has taken them to numerous American and European festival dates including Lollapalooza and supporting My Chemical Romance, with Reading and Leeds festivals for the bank holiday weekend to follow.
The chemistry between the three band mates is a key part of their appeal, playing together since they were teenagers, Braeden Lemasters, Dylan Minnette and Cole Preston formed a band called The Narwhals which was renamed Wallows in 2017. Both Dylan and Braeden were child actors, with Dylan continuing to act until only a few years ago, in TV shows including the teen favourite ‘13 Reasons Why’ and films such as ‘Scream’.
The band come on to a thunderous playing of Fergie’s 2006 hit ‘London Bridge’, which famously had the video shot on the more recognisable and photogenic Tower Bridge, re-imagined this summer as part of the Lena Dunham Netflix show ‘Too Much’, with the bridge corrected.
First song ‘She’s an Actress’ from the album ‘Model’ sees Dylan singing whilst wandering through the crowd, their screams almost drowning out the music. Its languid refrain ‘she’s a model, she’s an actress, she’s a dancer’ perfectly encapsulating the LA ‘and more’ stereotype.
The band breeze through their hits and their closeness is clear to see, chatting between songs and updating the set list as they go, with an easy charm and spontaneity. The lead vocals are shared between Dylan and Braeden, with a constant switching out of instruments, Dylan even taking a turn on the drums. The lighter songs from ‘Model’ are a welcome change of pace and bring a little calmness to the frenetic crowd. ‘You (Show Me Where My Days Went)’ with its upbeat refrain and synths replacing the guitar heavy sound shows off their new direction.
The band have commented on their newer more relaxed sound, saying they have let go of the “anxious tendencies” of their past, resulting in a lightness. “We want this to be the most approachable album we’ve made. I want people to put this on if they’re not really a fan of us, and be gripped immediately”.
Single ‘Calling After Me’ gets the crowd bouncing, ready for the finale of the set, a song that the band have described as “really light on its feet.. the most playful song we’ve had yet lyrically. It’s an ‘I like you, you like me’ love song.. a lot of our songs’ lyrical content is shrouded in uncertainty and insecurities. This is more assured and it’s fun.”
This light atmosphere is also shared in the between song banter that bounces around the band mates. Drummer Cole humorously asks the crowd for a show of hands of who had eaten a Greggs sausage roll today, with his own hand firmly up. With the US Open tennis about to start he remarked whether there were any Jack Draper fans in the house, tipping him to win a slam soon, a very popular comment with the crowd cheering for their local heart throb.
The final songs see the band really let loose, with the crowd shouting along to every lyric. Ironically titled ‘Are you Bored yet?’ from their first album ‘Nothing Happens’ expresses the fear that a partner in a long term relationship is ready to move on, all to the bounciest tune imaginable. The band follow this up with three more songs from their debut album, but end the set bang up to date with ‘Only Ecstasy’ from their newest album, a fitting ending to an exuberant show, with multi coloured confetti showered over the breathless audience during the final chorus.
Words by Brendan Sharp
Photography by Stefania Mohottigt
