Andre Paine8 September 2017
While Alvvays’s name is destined to confuse people for the duration of the Toronto band’s career (it’s pronounced “Always”), there’s no mistaking the quality of songwriting on their second record.
Anyone who still cherishes winsome British indie-pop (The Primitives, Camera Obscura, Teenage Fanclub) will find it hard to resist Alec O’Hanley’s jangly guitar and Molly Rankin’s sweetly disconsolate voice.
Plimsoll Punks, Hey and Lollipop (Ode to Jim) show a mastery of the sort of peppy chorus that would once have warmed up wallflowers at a Nineties indie disco.
While Alvvays’s influences are hard to miss amid the fuzzy riffs, droning synths and dreamy vocals, their melodies are timeless.
