It’s been almost exactly five years since Canadian indie rock band Alvvays (pronounced “always” — another band already had the rights to the name with that spelling) released its acclaimed sophomore album “Antisocialites.” Building on the buzz of its 2014 self-titled debut, “Antisocialites” led the group to tour extensively around the globe.
Then things got pretty quiet in the Alvvays camp, aside from some 2021 dates opening for the Strokes. Even before the pandemic, the first steps toward a new album were derailed by the theft of demo recordings from frontwoman Molly Rankin’s apartment.
Credit: Norman Wong
Credit: Norman Wong
Finally, earlier this year the band (original members vocalist/guitarist Rankin, lead guitarist Alec O’Hanley, and keyboard player/backing vocalist Kerri MacLellan with drummer Sheridan Riley and bassist Abbey Blackwell) announced both a fall tour of the UK and North America (including a Nov. 7 visit to Variety Playhouse) and a new record, put together about a year ago. “Blue Rev” was released on Oct. 7.
It was well worth the wait.
Adding experimental touches and sonic layers to the kinds of catchy melodies and thoughtful lyrics Alvvays has developed over the years, “Blue Rev” is a well-crafted gem. It’s also their longest album to date, and the amount of time spent on it meant they had more songs than room. “Oh yeah, there were a couple more that didn’t make it on to the record that I’m confident that will see the light of day at some point that I was quite fond of,” confirmed Rankin, calling between the group’s UK tour and the start of North American dates. “Yeah, it’s good to have those stashed in a little drawer for later.”
“Pharmacist” is a perfect lead track for the album. Its shoegaze-influenced waves of guitar and bouncy chorus stand out, and Rankin liked it from the get-go. “‘Pharmacist’ was one of the ones that I was really vouching for in the early days,” she said. “In the late stages I felt like that should emerge early on in the record release and on the record,” and it was the first single released.
Credit: Norman_Wong
Credit: Norman_Wong
Another highlight is “After the Earthquake,” marrying the shimmering sounds of O’Hanley’s jangly guitar hooks with Rankin’s jittery but soaring vocals.
Ultimately, getting the vocals nailed down was the key to defining “After the Earthquake.” “Just trying to get the right vocal took some time,” admitted Rankin, “and also the lyrics are so rapid-fire that squeezing everything in, moving it around like a puzzle took some time as well.”
Throughout “Blue Rev,” the vocals show as many signs of experimentation as the vast swells of guitars and keyboards. Rankin, O’Hanley and producer Shawn Everett (a fellow Canadian) threw the kitchen sink at them at various stages. Chorus echo was a favorite tool. The unique sound on “Pomeranian Spinster” was “just me yelling into a mic,” the singer said.
The group had the jarring experience of shuttling back and forth between Canada (recording at home) and Los Angeles, where Everett is based, to create “Blue Rev.” Rankin acknowledges the juxtaposition of their early recording history (the core of the band lives in Toronto but grew up in the Maritime Provinces) with the experience of being in a big L.A. studio.
“My experience with recording in a studio — and I think I can speak for Alec too — is that you have everything pretty much 95% ready and figured out before you even walk into it. So the remaining 5% is experimentation and trying things.” In the meantime, though, “having Alec’s skills developed — he’s become a really interesting engineer and producer and has all of these skills now where we can actually take time and work on things.”
Out west, things were different. “When we got to Shawn’s,” noted Rankin, “I realized you have no control over anything. You’re just sucked into his orbit.... Luckily it was incredibly fun and disorienting and we came out with a great pal.”
One of the many strengths of “Blue Rev” is the songwriting, courtesy of the usual team of Rankin and O’Hanley. This time around, MacLellan was more involved in song creation. “Kerri had all of the demos from a very early stage,” acknowledged Rankin. “Alec and I would spend hours and hours in the basement honing a mix, and we would send it to her, and she would be like, ‘I’m really missing the specific keyboard in this section’,” the singer said of MacLellan’s ability to recall elements of previous mixes she and O’Hanley had forgotten.
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia (where Rankin and MacLellan grew up; O’Hanley is from Prince Edward Island) looms large on the album, even on the cover, which features a photo of a young Rankin and her parents getting off of a boat as a storm looms. Lyrically, the song “Belinda Says” has a thematic tie-in to the area. “That song I think is a good representation of some of the subject matter I was trying to touch on with this record, which is drawing from unique experiences living in Cape Breton,” Rankin said. “Weird little cultural moments that I feel I shared with a lot of people who lived there, but seem foreign to people from outside of that region. But that song specifically is just about making mistakes when you’re young and setting out on a completely new path.”
The song also stood out on the band’s recent UK tour. “[It’s] very much in our wheelhouse,” enthused Rankin, “but there are a lot of different keyboards and stuff that are slicing through in a satisfying way.”
As Alvvays embarks on this much longer North American jaunt, Atlantans will benefit from the band’s expanded repertoire even as its members grapple with deciding what to play. “It’s actually crazy because we used to add covers because our first album was so short,” admitted Rankin. “The second record — it was basically a full set list. Now we’re having to cut songs, we’re just learning how this goes. Now I understand the politics and the anguish of the whole process!”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Alvvays with Slow Pulp
8 p.m. Nov. 7. $25-$49.50. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-876-5566, variety-playhouse.com.
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