Alvvays
| Alvvays | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Indie pop, dream pop, indie rock, jangle pop, lo-fi, art rock, surf rock |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Labels |
Royal Mountain (Canada) Polyvinyl (US) Transgressive (Europe) |
| Website | alvvays |
| Members | Molly Rankin Kerri MacLellan Alec O'Hanley Brian Murphy Phil MacIsaac |
Alvvays (pronounced "Always") is a Canadian indie pop/rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario in 2011. The band currently consists of vocalist Molly Rankin, keyboardist Kerri MacLellan, guitarist Alec O'Hanley, bassist Brian Murphy, and drummer Phil MacIsaac. Their debut album, Alvvays, was released in 2014, peaking at number one on the U.S. college charts. They are currently working on a second studio album.
Alvvays was formed in Toronto. Molly Rankin, the group's singer-songwriter, is the daughter of John Morris Rankin, a fiddler with the Celtic folk family collective the Rankin Family, who enjoyed international success in the 1990s. Rankin grew up writing music with her neighbour, keyboardist Kerri MacLellan. She later met guitarist Alec O'Hanley at a concert in her teen years. With the help of O'Hanley, Rankin quietly released a solo extended play titled She in 2010. Alvvays was formed the following year, with Rankin assembling MacLellan, O'Hanley, drummer Phil MacIssac and bassist Brian Murphy to join the group. As the band grew up on neighbouring islands—Rankin and MacLellan on Cape Breton and O'Hanley, MacIssac, and Murphy hailing from Prince Edward Island—Rankin was led to dub the band "merging of obscure islands in the east coast." She picked the name Alvvays because she liked that it had a "shred of sentiment and nostalgia." The spelling of the band name was due to the fact that there was already a band named Always signed to Sony.
They often made the long drives from Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island to Toronto, where they all eventually moved and secured jobs that allowed them to tour occasionally. The group toured extensively as supporting acts for bands such as Peter Bjorn and John and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their debut album was recorded in Calgary with Chad VanGaalen in March 2013; Graham Walsh helped track the album while John Agnello helped mix it. After the album was complete, the group made cassette copies for festival bookers and fans at concerts to pass around. The group were signed to Polyvinyl Records on the strength of their SXSW performances and online fervor over the demo of their single "Adult Diversion".Alvvays, which was released by Royal Mountain Records (Canada), Polyvinyl Records (US), and Transgressive Records (Europe) in July 2014. Simon Vozick-Levinson, writing in Rolling Stone, called the eponymous album an "indie-pop wonder".Alvvays went to #1 on US college charts on August 5, 2014. "Archie, Marry Me" became a minor hit. The single for "Archie, Marry Me" featured the b-side "Underneath Us" which was recorded sometime after the eponymous album.
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