By the time Los Angeles' Wallows began releasing music under that name in 2017, they had established an '80s-influenced sound with hints of post-punk, synth pop, and power pop as well as more down-to-earth contemporary bedroom pop. Their debut album, Nothing Happens, arrived in 2019 and hit 75 on the Billboard 200, buoyed by the Top 40 rock chart single "Are You Bored Yet?," featuring Clairo. In 2020, they again landed on the Billboard 200 with the Remote EP, before releasing the 2021 single "I Don't Want to Talk."