Nowadays, shoe-gazey pop is not hard to find, especially as a new generation of musicians has adopted the genre into their musical styles. While its resurgence can be linked to social media trends on TikTok, it also can surely be traced back to the influence of the alternative band Alvvays.
With over two million monthly listeners on Spotify, the Toronto-based band has been around since the mid-2010s, releasing their first album “Alvvays” in 2014. With lead vocalist Molly Rankin, keyboardist Kerri MacLellan, guitarist Alec O’Hanley, bassist Brian Murphy and drummer Phil MacIsaac, they formed Alvvays after Rankin had been releasing solo EPs with her future bandmates' help beforehand.
Their breakthrough on their first album came from the love ballad, “Archie, Marry Me.” This led to the band being able to open for other acts such as Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Peter Bjorn and John. Alvvays also performed for the first time at South by Southwest, or SXSW, in the same year as their self-titled debut, gaining even more attention for their single “Adult Diversion.”
After the increase in popularity, Alvvays began playing on bigger stages at major festivals, stopping for a slot at Glastonbury the following year and then for one at Coachella in 2016. During the time in between, Rankin was beginning to work on songs for their next album, traveling to the Toronto Islands to write in isolation.
Thus, this isolation led to their second album, “Antisocialites,” which dropped in 2017. Nominated for two Juno Awards, Alvvays won Group of the Year in 2018, allowing the band to continue to grow into a worldwide sensation. With songs such as “Dreams Tonite” and “Forget About Life,” fans saw the magic within the group’s music, relating to their lyrics about adolescence and the confusion that comes with it.
Playing alongside bands such as The National and Snail Mail in the height of the late 2010s, the band, like many other artists, hit a roadblock once the COVID-19 pandemic came to fruition. With Murphy and MacIsaac leaving the group, Rankin found herself also having to start over from nothing after losing her laptop and equipment full of demos and song ideas in a flood.
Replacing her former bandmates with bassist Abbey Blackwell and drummer Sheridan Riley, Alvvays was a group not many were sure would release music again, especially after already taking a close to five-year hiatus. Yet, this all changed in late 2022 when they returned with their critically-acclaimed project, “Blue Rev
Produced by Shawn Everett, who’s worked with other artists such as Kacey Musgraves and The War on Drugs, the band’s new sound was a massive step away from their previous albums, evident with the guitar-heavy “Belinda Says” and the electronic nature of “Tile by Tile.” Rankin’s vocals also returned with a power unheard of before, singing stories about her childhood and past love affairs.
The album was ranked 8.8 by Pitchfork, as well as made it on their Best New Music list, receiving rave reviews from other publications such as NPR. Since its release, Alvvays has started touring again, undergoing a headlining tour last year throughout the United States. The band also recently played Nelsonville Music Festival, known for performing frequently in southeast Ohio to the surprise of many.
Now, Alvvays is currently opening for Maggie Rogers this summer, but there’s no doubt they’ll continue to live up to their name recognition. If you’re into nostalgic indie pop music, then this band is perfect for long drives or walks, especially if you’re needing to contemplate something.
Find more of Alvvays’ music here.
