Biography
Alvvays are an indie pop band based in Toronto, fronted by singer and songwriter Molly Rankin, with Alec O'Hanley on guitar, Kerri MacLellan on keyboards, Brian Murphy on bass and Phil MacIsaac on drums.[1]
Rankin grew up in Cape Breton in a family steeped in East Coast folk and was born into the Rankin Family musical clan. She played fiddle and piano and danced Scottish step as a child, and toured arenas with her family at eighteen.[2] She and MacLellan were neighbours who played folk music together before moving toward pop.[2] Rankin and O'Hanley released the EP She in 2010.[3]
The band's breakthrough came with Archie, Marry Me, shared as a demo in April 2013 and recorded with producer Chad VanGaalen. It led to deals with Royal Mountain, Polyvinyl and Transgressive and to their self-titled debut in 2014, which was shortlisted for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.[3][4]
Their third album, Blue Rev, arrived in October 2022 after roughly five years of delays that included a studio flood, the replacement of their rhythm section, pandemic border closures and a break-in at Rankin's apartment that cost her a recorder full of demos.[5][6] The band recorded it in Los Angeles with producer Shawn Everett, playing whole takes live, and it won the 2023 Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year.[6]
References
- Time Machine: Financial Stability and Commitment, for Alvvays (Atwood Magazine) — Interpretation of the song's financial and commitment themes; band lineup
- Alvvays interview (Vice) — Rankin on Archie, her family background and the band's evolution
- Archie, Marry Me (Wikipedia) — Songwriting background, recording, release history, reception and music video details
- Alvvays (album) (Wikipedia) — Album recording, release, critical reception and accolades
- The Beautiful, Blue, Twisted Fantasies of Alvvays (The Ringer) — Describes the song's character, the album's cast of disillusioned figures, and the troubled making of the record
- Blue Rev (Wikipedia) — Release, recording with Shawn Everett, track listing, reception and awards