Alvvays
I very rarely seem to blog that often about bands From the Anglo side of Canada's linguistic divide... and although I was mightily impressed by Toronto's Austra when they supported Chvrches, even my stellar review of Whitehorse is tempered by the fact that the album in question, "Éphémère sans repère", is in French...
So I'm indebted to Indie Wonderland", my weekly fix of all things Indie that's broadcast from 21:00-23:00 GMT every Wednesday via UK internet radio station Barricade Radio. Last year the show bought to my attention the North London indie-pop genius that is Cosines and Aussie wordsmith Courtney Barnett. This year it's Toronto-based indie-pop sensations Alvvays that I have DJ SuperJules to thank for having been thrust into my consciousness...
Alvvays (pronounced 'Always' apparently) are Cape Breton natives Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (Keyboards) and the Prince Edward Island trio of Alec O'Hanley (guitar), Brian Murphy (bass) and Phil MacIsaac (drums) whose eponymous debut album to these ears is like taking all my favourite track from all my favourite indie-pop album from the past thirty-odd years, from the post-punk sound of Dolly Mixture and Girls at Our Best! through the C-86, Twee and Brit-pop eras - and all points in between - to the cream of this year's crop from Dum Dum Girls, Fear of Men and Cosines - to name but a few) to create one glorious compilation of inspired indie-pop full of jangly guitars, inspired melodies, hooks so catchy that they ought to carry a government health warning and - yes - harmonious female vocals...
This album sets out it's stall out with "Adult diversion" - solid bass line and pounding drums that are joined by a joyous and heavily reverbed guitar riff before Molly Rankin's soothing echoey vocals float and soar over the tune. It's a song packed with memorable hooks and melodies, bittersweet lyrics with the most sing-alongable of choruses, before - and in the best in indie tradition - the cascading rhythm and discordant guitar fades out the song. In a nutshell - totally captivating...
Alvvays (pronounced 'Always' apparently) are Cape Breton natives Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (Keyboards) and the Prince Edward Island trio of Alec O'Hanley (guitar), Brian Murphy (bass) and Phil MacIsaac (drums) whose eponymous debut album to these ears is like taking all my favourite track from all my favourite indie-pop album from the past thirty-odd years, from the post-punk sound of Dolly Mixture and Girls at Our Best! through the C-86, Twee and Brit-pop eras - and all points in between - to the cream of this year's crop from Dum Dum Girls, Fear of Men and Cosines - to name but a few) to create one glorious compilation of inspired indie-pop full of jangly guitars, inspired melodies, hooks so catchy that they ought to carry a government health warning and - yes - harmonious female vocals...
This album sets out it's stall out with "Adult diversion" - solid bass line and pounding drums that are joined by a joyous and heavily reverbed guitar riff before Molly Rankin's soothing echoey vocals float and soar over the tune. It's a song packed with memorable hooks and melodies, bittersweet lyrics with the most sing-alongable of choruses, before - and in the best in indie tradition - the cascading rhythm and discordant guitar fades out the song. In a nutshell - totally captivating...
Now I've always been a bit of a sucker for any song that channels drums through one ear and guitar through the other. So when on "Ones who love you" the bass bridges the two and Molly puts down her Talulah Gosh album, I'm hooked. It's an arresting slower number which hints that the band don't necessarily have to rip through songs at a hundred miles an hour to grab the attention.
Indeed, the song is the beginning of a change of tack and leads to a whole raft of slower songs; "Next of kin", with the most gorgeous of reverbed guitars; "Party police", Molly's breathless vocals, beguilingly straining to reach the peaks and a middle eight of swirling keys. The band even throw in a trick with "The agency group", the song opens with an incredibly distorted, discordant sound - expecting a lurch towards shoegaze, the song instead evolves into yet another bewitching and plaintive slow-burner. Indeed there's more than enough to suggest that this East Coast quintet listened to rather a lot of Twee bands during their formative years...
Indeed, the song is the beginning of a change of tack and leads to a whole raft of slower songs; "Next of kin", with the most gorgeous of reverbed guitars; "Party police", Molly's breathless vocals, beguilingly straining to reach the peaks and a middle eight of swirling keys. The band even throw in a trick with "The agency group", the song opens with an incredibly distorted, discordant sound - expecting a lurch towards shoegaze, the song instead evolves into yet another bewitching and plaintive slow-burner. Indeed there's more than enough to suggest that this East Coast quintet listened to rather a lot of Twee bands during their formative years...
Seriously every song on this album is a solid-gold nugget of a song; in an album of full if irresistible choruses, the refrain of "Atop a cake" does indeed threaten to top the lot; "Dives" and "Red Planet" sound if they could have been lifted from or transplanted into any of my favourite seminal indie-pop albums.
But ultimately no review of this album is going to be complete without a mention of "Archie, Marry Me." As a disclaimer I have to confess that this is the song that Indie Wonderland sold me on... That and a comment along the lines of "we knew you'd like that..." Frankly, it's the perfect single - everything you (or at least I) would want is all here; the reverbed guitars - simple but so effective, Molly's romantic plea to a boy who is more concerned about student loans and the worry of future alimony payments rather than matrimony , a totally hummable tune with another singalong chorus that I cannot shake over a cacophony of bouncing percussion, runaway guitars and a riff I can't put my finger on - lets just put this on auto-repeat, shall we?
But ultimately no review of this album is going to be complete without a mention of "Archie, Marry Me." As a disclaimer I have to confess that this is the song that Indie Wonderland sold me on... That and a comment along the lines of "we knew you'd like that..." Frankly, it's the perfect single - everything you (or at least I) would want is all here; the reverbed guitars - simple but so effective, Molly's romantic plea to a boy who is more concerned about student loans and the worry of future alimony payments rather than matrimony , a totally hummable tune with another singalong chorus that I cannot shake over a cacophony of bouncing percussion, runaway guitars and a riff I can't put my finger on - lets just put this on auto-repeat, shall we?
For an album that was recorded on this side of the pond, to these ears it seems as if nearly all the influences are from the side of my formative musical youth (the most obvious influence from over here would seem to be the fuzzy West-Coast sound of LA's very own Best Coast). Perhaps this is why the album just resonates with me.
I'm usually suspicious of bands that insist on using bizarre spellings for their names, but when the album is this good and this addictive then they are more than forgiven. I found it impossible to listen to this album and not smile. I find myself - limbs akimbo - bouncing around to this record in the most inappropriate locations. If it is possible to overdose on an indie sugar-rush then I'm probably going to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after repeated listening to this album....
Alvvays Website
Alvvays iTunes
I'm usually suspicious of bands that insist on using bizarre spellings for their names, but when the album is this good and this addictive then they are more than forgiven. I found it impossible to listen to this album and not smile. I find myself - limbs akimbo - bouncing around to this record in the most inappropriate locations. If it is possible to overdose on an indie sugar-rush then I'm probably going to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after repeated listening to this album....
Alvvays Website
Alvvays iTunes
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