"Dreams Tonite" is a song 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 ...

. It was released on July 25, 2017 as the second single from the band's second studio album, ''

Antisocialites ''Antisocialites'' is the second studio album by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays, released on September 8, 2017, through Polyvinyl, Royal Mountain, Transgressive and Inertia. Recording and production According to frontwoman Molly Rankin, ''An ...

''.

Background

"Dreams Tonite" forms the basis of the album's "fantasy breakup arc," with the protagonist questioning whether or not they would still be attracted to their significant other if meeting in the present, rather than the past. The song first became a part of the group's live setlist in early 2016. The band debuted the song online as a pre-release single for ''Antisocialites'' on July 25, 2017. The band promoted the song with a performance on ''

CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original host ...

'' in the U.S. "Dreams Tonite" became one of the band's most popular tunes; as of October 2022, the song has over 70 million streams on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

Music video

The song's retro-futuristic

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was directed by Matt Johnson, and uses archival footage of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

's 1967 International and Universal Exposition. It was released on September 13, 2017. In the clip, the band's members are inserted into the footage digitally. Mark Byrnes of ''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ma ...

'' described the proceedings: "While "visiting" Expo, the members ride the automated

Minirail The Minirail was an automated monorail system on Saint Helen's and Notre Dame islands in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The network was built for the 1967 World's Fair (Expo 67), and continued to operate for Man and his World. The system consisted ...

, gape at

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

geodesic dome A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic dom ...

, and perform on an outdoor stage for fairgoers." The band were pleased with the video, given their disdain for the format, especially due to their respect for Johnson.

Reception

Amanda Wicks from ''

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'' suggested the song "looks at the liminal space between ..two frames of mind, questioning the forces that separate lovers, be they self-made or circumstantial." Its readers polled the song among the year's overall best. Tim Sendra from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised the "lovely new wave ballad" for its "its melancholy nostalgia." Randall Colburn at ''

Consequence Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

'' called the song "relentless in its romanticism," while Anna Gaca of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' dubbed it "light, literal dream pop that’s almost too pure for this world." Mike Gatzig 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 ...

found the tune "sleek and gauzy," while Ethan Sapienza of

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

Background

Music video

Reception

Certifications

References

External links