When If Walls Could Talk released originally released What Would They Say? two years ago, it seemed like the Detroit based alternative collective was just a little bit ahead of their time. The five songs that initially made up the tracklisting came across as an operatic and performative culmination of their influences; you can hear sprinklings of the piano-pop stylings of Jack’s Mannequin worked into the decidedly intangible brand of schizophrenic pop of Twenty One Pilots, but the songwriting is undeniably their own. The lyrical prowess and desire to truly create something out of nothing comes across in a way that feels authentic to the guys that make up If Walls Could Talk that really sold it.
The band is back with a deluxe version of the EP that helped cement the style of maniacal pop that we’ve come to expect from them. This re-release comes with a new song called “Static” and stripped down versions of “Rose In The Sky,” “Beautiful You,” and “Nighttime” — and each of them have morphed into something even more beautiful than they were before thanks to the intimacy of their live recordings. The one truly new song feels like a bombastic leap forward for the band, but not something that’s out of line with the original version of What Would They Say? In fact, the new song has only made the record feel like a more complete version of itself. It’s jubilant and infectious; you can’t help but feel alive as that track courses through your spine like a shot of adrenaline, continuing through the rest of what this band brings to the table.
When talking about the re-release, each of the members had something to say. Vocalist Anthony Berkseth said: “When we recorded the original album, it was our best work we had in us at the time. Now we’ve only built upon that, and we’re so happy with what was created.” That’s the universal truth for what each member of If Walls Could Talk had to say about the record, but if I had to pick another that really hit the nail on the head for what they’ve managed to do here, it would be the quote from keyboardist Steven Fronrath, who said: “At the end of the day, our goal was to write music that could have simple singalong melodies, but at the same time still be musically complex. The Deluxe EP allows to keep growing on our initial vision.”
Listen below.
The deluxe version of What Would They Say? is out June 8th and can be pre-ordered here.