A great single is both a blessing and a curse. We’re not talking a smash hit here either, simply a great single. A song that could be pressed on a 7” and left alone for all time. Alvvays have one in Archie, Marry Me, but they’ve managed to avoid the accompanying pitfall: the filler record.
The Canadians’ self-titled debut is short, sweet and brimming with the sort of wistful melodies that have earned them comparisons with a certain breed of Scottish indie bands. Archie, Marry Me is a neat encapsulation of their appeal; a huge pop song cut with yearning and melancholy.
There’s a sense throughout of the angst that attends a life lived on the outside, whether that’s Archie’s “contempt for matrimony”, the commuter romance dreams of Adult Diversion or Atop A Cake’s quest for control. Wrapped up in the band’s fuzzy sound and filled out by Molly Rankin’s faultless vocals, the album’s 20-something themes become powerful arguments.
If there’s the odd moment where they stray from understated into maudlin - see sections of Ones Who Love You and pretty much all of the album’s closer, Red Planet - there are plenty more where their deftness of touch is displayed. Mixing thought provoking, emotionally resonant subject matter with pop sensibilities isn’t a new idea, but it is one that’s difficult to master.
Next Of Kin, for example, is a decidedly macabre piece about a lover lost to a river, but Rankin’s soaring hook and wry delivery of its killer lyric - “If I had known he couldn't swim we would have never gone in” - make it subtly effective at first and eventually quietly unsettling.
Alvvays have the melodic finesse to make an immediate impact and the lyrical power to stay with you. This debut isn’t perfect, but it suggests that we will be enjoying their ruminations on life and pop music for a long time to come.
Alvvays Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue August 05 2014 - LONDON Birthdays
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