Alvvays (pronounced "always") is a Canadian

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band formed in 2011, originating from

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

, and currently based in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It consists of Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O'Hanley (guitars), Abbey Blackwell (bass), and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their self-titled debut album, released in 2014, topped the US college charts. Their second studio album, '' Antisocialites'', was released on September 8, 2017, and won the

Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year The Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the alternative rock and/or indie rock genres. The award was first presented in 1995 under the name Best Alternati ...

at the

Juno Awards of 2018 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Juno ...

. Both albums were short-listed for the

Polaris Music Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was incr ...

. Their third album, '' Blue Rev'', was released on October 7, 2022.

History

Formation and early years (2011–2015)

Molly Rankin, the group's singer-songwriter, is the daughter of John Morris Rankin, a fiddler with the Celtic folk family collective the Rankin Family, who enjoyed international success in the 1990s. Rankin grew up in Judique, Nova Scotia, writing music with her neighbour, keyboardist Kerri MacLellan. She later met guitarist and partner Alec O'Hanley at a concert. With the help of O'Hanley, Rankin quietly released a solo extended play titled ''She'' in 2010. Alvvays was formed the following year, with Rankin recruiting MacLellan, O'Hanley, drummer Phil MacIsaac and bassist Brian Murphy. Rankin picked the name Alvvays because it had a "shred of sentiment and nostalgia." The spelling of the band name was due to the fact that there was already a band named Always signed to Sony. Alvvays - Sasquatch 2015

The band members moved to Toronto and secured jobs that allowed them to tour occasionally. The group toured extensively as supporting acts for bands such as Peter Bjorn and John and the Decemberists. Their self-titled debut studio album, '' Alvvays'', was recorded in Calgary with Chad VanGaalen in March 2013; Graham Walsh helped track the album while John Agnello helped mix it. Alvvays were signed to Polyvinyl Records on the strength of their performances at SXSW (

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

) and online response to the demo of their single "Adult Diversion". The album ''Alvvays'' was released by Royal Mountain Records (Canada), Polyvinyl Records (US) and Transgressive Records (Europe) in July 2014. Simon Vozick-Levinson, writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', called the album an "indie-pop wonder". ''Alvvays'' went to #1 on US college charts on August 5, 2014; in November that year they performed in Los Angeles with another Canadian band,

Absolutely Free ''Absolutely Free'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released on May 26, 1967, by Verve Records. Much like their 1966 debut ''Freak Out!'', the album is a display of complex musical composition with pol ...

. "

Archie, Marry Me "Archie, Marry Me" is a song by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays. It was released on April 6, 2013, as the lead single from the band's eponymous debut album (2014). "Archie, Marry Me" examines modern romance and traditional marriage, and touche ...

" became a minor hit. The single for "Archie, Marry Me" featured the B-side "Underneath Us" which was recorded after the eponymous album. The group toured heavily in support of their debut, including slots at Glastonbury 2015 and

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

in 2016. The debut album was nominated to the shortlist of the

2015 Polaris Music Prize The 2015 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 21, 2015 at The Carlu event theatre in Toronto, Ontario.

. They performed at that year's gala with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. At the

Juno Awards of 2015 The Juno Awards of 2015 honoured Canadian music industry achievements in the latter part of 2013 and in most of 2014. The awards were presented in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada during the weekend of 14–15 March 2015. The main ceremony was conducted ...

, the band was nominated as Breakthrough Group of the Year, and ''Alvvays'' was nominated for Alternative Album of the Year.

''Antisocialites'' (2016–2018)

Alvvays began recording and writing their second studio album in 2015. Several new original songs had been performed throughout 2014 and 2015, including "Your Type" (often the opening song of the show), "New Haircut" (later retitled "Saved By A Waif") and "Hey". In 2016 they added "Not My Baby" and "Dreams" to their performance repertoire. Following the addition of new songs such as "Plimsoll Punks" as part of live shows in spring 2017, Alvvays released a teaser clip of a song called "In Undertow" from their second album, '' Antisocialites''. Along with songs performed at previous shows, new songs for this record included "Already Gone", "Forget About Life", "In Undertow", "Lollipop (Ode to Jim)" and "Saved by a Waif". The album was released on September 8, 2017. A North American and European tour in support of the album was announced for autumn 2017. In 2016, Phil MacIsaac left the music industry for a career in graphic design; he was replaced by Sheridan Riley. A second UK tour in spring 2018 was announced in September 2017. On September 16, 2017, at a show in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, a male audience member jumped on stage and attempted to kiss singer Molly Rankin. Ken Veerman, the director at Trix, the show’s venue, apologized on Facebook. In 2018 the band received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination for the song "Dreams Tonite", and ''Antisocialites'' was shortlisted for the

2018 Polaris Music Prize The 2018 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 17, 2018.

."Polaris Music Prize Reveals 2018 Short List"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', July 17, 2018. At the

, Alvvays was nominated as Group of the Year and ''Antisocialites'' won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.

''Blue Rev'' (2021–present)

Bassist and founding member Brian Murphy left the band in 2021. Alvvays released "

Pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

", the first single from their third album '' Blue Rev'', on July 6, 2022. ''Blue Rev'' was released on October 7, 2022.

Musical style and influences

Alvvays' music has been described as jangle pop by the music press and its members. According to Rankin, the band's emphasis is primarily on strong melodies rather than for a specific genre. The band has been compared to Camera Obscura; Rankin noted she shared vocalist

Tracyanne Campbell Tracyanne Campbell (born 18 May 1974) is a Scottish singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the Glasgow-based indie pop band Camera Obscura. Born in Glasgow, Campbell founded Camera Obscura alongside John Henderson and Gavin Dunbar in 19 ...

's "fondness for the pathetic perspective." Rankin sought inspiration from Stephin Merritt, frontman of

the Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields (named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel ''Les Champs Magnétiques'') are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocali ...

, appreciating the honest but lighthearted nature of his lyrics. Rankin's personal influences include

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared ...

, Dolly Mixture, the Smiths,

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, Pavement,

the Primitives The Primitives are an English indie pop band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career ...

, and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

. While the band does not have an overt

Celtic music Celtic music is a broad grouping of music genres that evolved out of the folk music traditions of the Celtic people of Northwestern Europe. It refers to both orally-transmitted traditional music and recorded music and the styles vary considerab ...

sound, Rankin acknowledges that she was immersed in the genre from childhood, and it has a discernible influence on the way she sings and writes melodies.

Members

Current members

* Molly Rankin –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

(2011–present), bass guitar (2022–present) * Kerri MacLellan –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, backing vocals (2011–present) * Alec O'Hanley –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

(2011–present) * Sheridan Riley –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, backing vocals (2017–present) * Abbey Blackwell – bass (2021–present)

Past members

* Phil MacIsaac – drums (2011–2016) * Brian Murphy –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(2011–2021)

Discography

Albums

Singles

* 2013: "

" * 2014: "

Adult Diversion "Adult Diversion" is a song by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays. The song was released on October 28, 2013 as the second single from their eponymous debut album. Written by vocalist and guitarist Molly Rankin, guitarist Alec O'Hanley, and bassist ...

" * 2014: "Next of Kin" * 2014: "Party Police" * 2017: "In Undertow" -

Canada Rock The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

#48 * 2017: "Not My Baby" * 2017: "Dreams Tonite" * 2017: "Plimsoll Punks" * 2022: "

" * 2022: " Easy On Your Own?" Canada Rock #50

Music videos

* 2013: "Adult Diversion" * 2014: "Archie, Marry Me" * 2014: "Next of Kin" * 2017: "In Undertow" * 2017: "Dreams Tonite" * 2022: "Pharmacist" * 2022: "Easy On Your Own?" * 2022: "Very Online Guy" * 2022: "Belinda Says" * 2022: "After the Earthquake" * 2022: "Many Mirrors"

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Canadian indie pop groups Dream pop musical groups Jangle pop groups Musical groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 2011 2011 establishments in Ontario Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year winners Musical groups from Charlottetown