“In my childhood bedroom,“ begins Wallice on her debut track “23,” a buoyantly melancholic indie-rock track that perfectly pairs the singer’s tongue-in-cheek existentialism with the generational angst of a generation. Propelled forward on a whimsically uplifting medley that betrays Wallice’s weariness over the rush to “grow-up,” while at the same time lamenting the setbacks that force unfair comparisons between her and the people around her. Stuck between all the dread of weight that comes with your 20s, especially in the age of hustle culture, influencers, and the strain of feeling stagnant after a year of a pandemic that has put everyone’s lives on hold, “23” cautions against the burnout.
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“The best of my years are yet to come,” Wallice reminds herself between the draining nostalgia and pining for stability. The music video for the song, directed by Taylor Fitzgerald, perfectly accentuates the song’s bright-pop sensibilities and nostalgia-saturated themes — while also giving us Wallice jamming out to her song in a birthday hat and some phenomenal cowboy boots.
At 22-years-old, Los Angeles-based Wallice has been penning songs since middle school, garnering inspiration from secret crushes and an ipod filled with her favorite indie-alternative tracks. After pursuing an education at the New School’s Jazz Vocal Program in New York, Wallice eventually left to move back home to California to focus on creating her own sound — a tough decision that she references in her song “23.”
“It’s hard not to compare your own professional success to that of your similarly aged peers. I dropped out of university in New York after studying Jazz Voice for a year, and my dad was VERY disappointed to say the least, so it was hard not to feel like a loser in that sense,” Wallice explained. “When I was younger my best friend and I would always talk about the cute apartment we would get after high school, but I found myself at 22 still living with my mom and wanting to move out but not able to quite yet. The specific age 23 doesn’t have any milestones associated with it, but it’s more the idea of just looking forward to the future. Much like how people ‘reset’ every new year, it’s comparable to be ‘older and wiser’ with each birthday, but instead of constantly looking to the future, it is important to be happy with where you are. “
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Watch Wallice’s video for “23” below!
