Live review: US rockers Wallows deliver storming set on a stormy autumnal night

The California collective called in a performance for the ages within the confines of the O2 Victoria Warehouse situated beside Manchester United’s iconic Old Trafford stadium.

Dedicated fans of the three-piece band could be seen queuing up from early morning in hope of being in a pole position to collect a space at the barrier.

And as the doors opened at seven on the dot, fans raced inside the tin roofed venue to escape the wet and windy weather outside.

Having filled up relatively quickly, many fans were greeted to the wonderful support act in the form of Matilda Mann.

The London-based singer has been Wallows’ sole opening act for the UK leg of their tour and has proven why with her tremendously touching bittersweet anthems.

She sweetly started her set with the serenely hopeful yet emotive track Paper Mache World.

The track delves into a fleet of heartaches while trying to remain romantic in a world of artificial love.

The blissfully beautiful opening to her set welcomed plenty of incoming Wallows fans into her world of self-discovery and intimate song writing.

Mann’s second song was Stranger (For Now) from her Sonder EP and once again the talented indie pop starlet’s catching vocals had the entire venue in a daze as she swayed softly to another anthem that perfectly encapsulates that fuzzy feeling of early 2000s romcoms.

Energetic Say It Back carried on her set into a more upbeat tempo and with the peppy track being the kickstart announcement for her much-awaited debut album Roxwell, it makes complete sense why this has already become a favourite with the Wallows fanbase as the relatable, yet catchy poetic lyricisms were able to entrance the venue into chanting the blunt yet enchanting main chorus back to the indie-folk singer.

Between songs, Matilda’s charisma shone through as she spoke to the audience in a joyful and bubbly demeanour which automatically placed a smile on many of the faces within the Manchester venue.

Up next was a track that was inspired by Gossip Girl, as Mann delved into the meaning behind Japan, stating that she was inspired to write it after all the girls in Gossip Girl would fly to Paris to cry and that if she could pick a country to tear up at, she'd fly to Japan if she wanted to cry.

This bittersweet meaning behind Japan is another yet hypnotic dive into Matilda’s diverse catalogue as she displays a vocal performance similar to Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever which is a compliment of the highest order.

The southern-based artist then debuted two unreleased songs with an old familiar spliced in between them, these were See You Later, The Day That I Met You, and Dazed and Confused, all rounding out a lovely set.

With only one song left in her set, she thanked the large crowd for turning up early and finished her performance with the charmingly sweet-sounding Bloom, while the lyrics dreamy, they actually bleed a heartache of meeting someone at the wrong time but the song encapsulates all of what makes Mann's sound so different and intimate.

Fans who were able to witness this set will be surely anticipating Matilda’s debut album Roxwell which will be released on February 28 next year.

The crowd only had to wait 30 minutes until the main event and what a night of incomparable energy they were treated to.

Wallows is composed of Dylan Minnette (lead vocals and guitar), Braeden Lemasters (vocals and guitar), and Cole Preston (guitar and drums) and the trio and their backing band came onto the stage covered by a sheet that illustrated the silhouette of Minette for their moody opening Do Not Wait.

And as their opening track came to a close, the curtain dropped to the catchy yet impactful track Your Apartment, that feels very much like the predecessor to fan favourite Remember When.

With a poignant readymade chorus, and underlying themes of relationship struggles, the track navigates between the lines of catchiness and personal growth that resonated massively with their fanbase as it became their most streamed tune within under a week – and it sets the tone and standard for their Model tour perfectly.

Following on from their fiery start was another hit from their latest album, this time it was the larger than life sounding Anytime Always and Scrawny, both with their infectious chorus spread through the venue like a wildfire and continued the Americans’ energetic start to their first night of two at the Manchester venue.

Autumnal themed Pulling Leaves Off Trees was next in the setlist for its first full band tour debut and with its indie-garage rock style bringing Wallows back to their roots it was still able to have the Northern crowd rocking along.

For the peppy track Quarterback, Cole Preston the drummer for the band, traded places with Dylan for this American football inspired anthem, while Preston delivered a strong vocal performance, Minette also solidly drummed his way through the track, showing the band’s diverse and raw musical talent.

The mellow yet atmospheric Bad Dream slowed down the set for a second, the dreamlike sensation of harmonic melodies, and a moody undertone that was nicely accompanied by Braeden’s vocals, made for an emotional and introspective anthem that slotted its way into their set ever so sweetly.

Picking the pace back up was OK - the action-packed piece was delivered emphatically by Minette as he prowled across the stage – and the powerful rock-pop hit was a surefire fan favourite that night.

You (Show Me Where My Days Went) was carrying on the setlist into the midpoint the track itself was a melodic and calming opener to the second side of their set, with a memorable guitar hook that compliments Minette’s vocals into a snappy singable hopeful anthem.

It was then back to Braeden Lemasters on vocals for the romantic At The End Of The Day, the charmingly sweet piece carries on the relationship-based introspect themes that Wallows are known for, and sees a more electronic-driven style, with some retro 80’s synth textures being applied to the track accompanied by Lemasters incredible delivery it made for another high point within the LA-indie trio’s set.

The world-renowned band concluded the initial set with the refined yet authentic She’s An Actress.

With complex and intricate lyricisms, the Golden State band’s songwriting skills were showcased while honing into a very sincere anthem - and with this final piece Minette could be seen right down at the barrier as the track delved into aspects of angst and realism pulling the tuneful piece together.

It was now into the lounge section of their performance (known as the lounge section due to the cosy living room lamps that are brought onto stage for this slice of their performance).

Usually this part of the set would take place on a B stage in the middle of the crowd but since there wasn’t one for the Warehouse, this portion of the performance was done on stage instead.

The lounge portion is where the trio performs stripped back versions of some of their work while letting their backing band have a rest off stage.

The acoustic versions that they performed during this slot was personal favourite Pictures of Girls and Let The Sun In which was requested by fans that had met Braeden earlier that day.

As this intimate part of their set concluded with the partially acoustic World’s Apart, the three-piece’s backing band returned to stage to see out the end of this soft-sounding single.

The tempo was cranked back up to eleven with their first ever published release in the form of Pleaser, the indie rock template set down the foundations for the band and to see them still appreciate and do the track justice show’s the band’s commitment to their refined style.

Keeping the mood high the next three selected finalised a brilliant end to their set, these were: Calling After Me, Remember When and I Don’t Want to Talk.

Calling After Me was a blazed firing of an alternative 2000s rock sound, that shone as a sunny yet memorable addition to their set.

Upbeat triumphant and insanely infectious Remember When sped the set into overdrive with its driving guitars, and Minette’s commanding vocals all contributed to a distinguishable gem stored away at the end of their set and will be sure to forever be a mainstay on every one of their setlists.

I Don’t Want to Talk was the poised to finish their set and it did so in absurd yet amazing fashion as it saw Minette utilise a harmonica to see out the cheerful yet wistful end.

With calls for one more song Wallows returned to stage for one last time that night to perform two final tunes for their encore, Minette announced that the next one might be familiar to the audience, and it certainly was as the instantly recognisable and singable riff to Are You Bored Yet circulated through the Manchester venue, this penultimate anthem was seeing out a great close to their extraordinary concert.

Reaching the end of the set, the last stop being Only Ecstasy a sweet and stirring composition, the track itself is a perfect embodiment of Model’s themes and makes for an exemplary end to their show and with another exemplary live performance under their belt the band is sure to return to the UK in higher demand than ever.