Alvvays
Alvvays are two women, three men, a crate of cassettes and a love of jingle-jangle. Molly Rankin and Kerri MacLellan grew up as next-door neighbours in Cape Breton, lifting fiddles and folk-songs. Heartbreaks of different shades soon entered their lives, as did the music of Teenage Fanclub and Belle & Sebastian. Similar noisy melancholy drifted over to Prince Edward Island, finding Alec O'Hanley, Brian Murphy and Philip MacIsaac. Convening in Toronto, the group have been making music since dusk or maybe dawn, when stars were appearing or fading off. As a result, their debut self-titled album is both sun-splashed and twilit -- nine songs concealing drunkenness, defeat and death in tungsten-tinted pop that glitters like sea glass. With needlepoint melody and verse, Rankin and O'Hanley's songs were recorded at Chad VanGaalen's Yoko Eno studio and mixed by Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck) and John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile). The resultant album is loud and clear and sure. Flood your ears.
Toronto indie-pop quintet Alvvays' Chad VanGaalen-produced debut is the sound of pristine pop music blasted through cheap, blown-out headphones. Every time it seems like a song is about to decay before your ears, you sense both the sadness and the liberation of knowing that nothing lasts forever.
Toronto indie-pop quintet Alvvays' Chad VanGaalen-produced debut is the sound of pristine pop music blasted through cheap, blown-out headphones. Every time it seems like a song is about to decay before your ears, you sense both the sadness and the liberation of knowing that nothing lasts forever.
The Toronto fuzz-pop darlings astound with a surprisingly experimental anthology of summer-haze delights.
The Toronto fuzz-pop darlings astound with a surprisingly experimental anthology of summer-haze delights.
With each effort packing at least half a dozen unique hooks, it’s difficult for anything to come off remotely dull.
With each effort packing at least half a dozen unique hooks, it’s difficult for anything to come off remotely dull.
Looking for your summer soundtrack? Get ready to swoon. This ain’t no hackneyed trust exercise either, so make sure you’re stood well away from sharp corners while listening. Alvvays’ sumptuously pretty pop glistens with hazy reverb and insouciant jangles, recalling yer La Seras and yer Dum Dum Girlses without really sounding too much like either of them.
Looking for your summer soundtrack? Get ready to swoon. This ain’t no hackneyed trust exercise either, so make sure you’re stood well away from sharp corners while listening. Alvvays’ sumptuously pretty pop glistens with hazy reverb and insouciant jangles, recalling yer La Seras and yer Dum Dum Girlses without really sounding too much like either of them.
Alvvays are generally associated with other Toronto acts, but with members originating from Cape Breton and PEI, their sound is more rooted...
Alvvays are generally associated with other Toronto acts, but with members originating from Cape Breton and PEI, their sound is more rooted...
Molly Rankin's sublime vocals are part yearning, part vulnerable, writes <strong>Phil Mongredien</strong>
Molly Rankin's sublime vocals are part yearning, part vulnerable, writes <strong>Phil Mongredien</strong>
Though there are moments of frayed musical charm throughout Alvvays, it exhibits an unexpected level of versatility for a debut.
Though there are moments of frayed musical charm throughout Alvvays, it exhibits an unexpected level of versatility for a debut.
Review of Alvvays' new self-titled album, it comes out on July 22 on Polyvinyl Records, the lead single is "Archie Marry Me" Alvvays play 7/11 in New York
Review of Alvvays' new self-titled album, it comes out on July 22 on Polyvinyl Records, the lead single is "Archie Marry Me" Alvvays play 7/11 in New York
Candian indie janglers Alvvays deliver and earnest and intelligent – but all too brief – debut album, writes <strong>Lanre Bakare</strong>
Candian indie janglers Alvvays deliver and earnest and intelligent – but all too brief – debut album, writes <strong>Lanre Bakare</strong>