''Antisocialites'' is the second studio album by 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

Alvvays Alvvays (pronounced "always") is a Canadian indie pop band formed in 2011, originating from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and currently based in Toronto, Ontario. It consists of Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (keyboard ...

, released on September 8, 2017, through

Polyvinyl In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...

, Royal Mountain, Transgressive and Inertia.

Recording and production

According to frontwoman Molly Rankin, ''Antisocialites'' was recorded using a combination of

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

and a TASCAM 488 8-track recorder.

Musical Style

The music is described by fans as having a more focused and radio-friendly sound than their self-titled album, while incorporating their original fuzzy styled guitars with catchy indie rock hooks.

Critical reception

''Antisocialites'' received positive reviews from critics. In a review from ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'', critic Marc Hogan praised the album as being "thoroughly accomplished". Several critics noted that the album was darker than the band's 2014 debut -- ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'' writer Steven Edelstone found the band's comparatively more serious lyrical content as "uneasy", but still a "record that begs to be blasted on road trips and at rooftop parties", while Mike Katzif of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

interpreted the album's lead track "In Undertow" as a "darker spiritual sequel" to their 2014 breakthrough single " Archie, Marry Me". Canadian music magazine ''

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 ...

'' ranked ''Antisocialites'' as their #1 album in their 2017 year-end list of pop and rock albums, drawing attention to the album's songwriting and "plain and simple" approach.

Accolades

''Antisocialites'' 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 ...

in 2018."Junos 2018: the complete list of winners"
''CBC News'', March 25, 2018 The album was also a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize."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.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album liner notes. Alvvays *Kerri MacLellan –

Farfisa Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...

, vocals *Brian Murphy – bass, guitar *Alec O'Hanley – guitars, vocals, Realistic, bass,

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, artwork, mixing *Molly Rankin – vocals, guitars, fiddle, artwork *Chris Dadge – drums, percussion Additional musicians *Moshe Fisher-Rozenberg – drums *Jeremy Gaudet – guitars *Isaac Takeuchi – cello * Norman Blake –

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

, vocals Technical and artwork *

John Congleton John Congleton is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, engineer, mixer, writer and musician. In addition to his production work, Congleton has fronted the alternative rock band the Paper Chase, and writes music for a newer project e ...

– recording, production *Celso Estrada –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

*Tyler Karmen – engineer *

Marta Salogni Marta Salogni is an Italian record producer, mixer and recording engineer. Salogni's musical background was cultivated in her native Italy between the small towns of Capriolo and Brescia, where she spent her formative years, collaborating with ...

– engineer *Alex Gamble – engineer *Graham Walsh – engineer *Kenny Meehan – engineer *Matt Estep – mixing *Justin Nace – additional mixing *David Ives – mastering *Anthony Stewart – photography

Charts

References

2017 albums Alvvays albums Polyvinyl Record Co. albums Transgressive Records albums Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year albums Albums produced by John Congleton Albums recorded at Tarbox Road Studios Albums recorded at Kingsize Soundlabs {{2010s-indie-pop-album-stub