Concert Reviews

Alvvays with Slow Pulp at History

Alvvay’s have been secretly keeping the down low during the pandemic, recording and finally releasing theirr third studio album, Blue Rev, which has received well-deserved accolades, as well ending up on every music site’s best year-end lists. Blue Rev is still distinctly what Alvvays has always been, dreamy synth pop music with a side of amped guitar. What is distinctly different is that Blue Rev is richer, expansive and louder then it’s predecessors.

Even with the imminence of a winter storm on Thursday night, the first of two sold out shows at History, it could not stop Alvvays’ fans from attending their first show since the pandemic, promoting their new album, Blue Rev. Blue Rev was named after the alcoholic blue drink of the same name but Molly Rankin, lead singer, has also alluded to the drink as a “weird portal to the past and youth. It was most appropriate as Alvvays opened with “Pharmacist”, a song about returning and revisiting your hometown after so much time and reminiscing about the past, the good and the bad.  Molly Rankin is accompanied by Kerri MacLellan, keyboards, Alec O’Hanley, lead guitar, Abby Blackwell, bassist and Sheridan Riley, drummer. Abby and Sheridan are recent additions to the band as former bandmates, Phil MacIsaac and Brian Murphy,  both left of their own accord for different reasons. There was nothing terribly special about their set production, as they had a giant screen sprawl across the stage projecting interesting patterns or a vintage film particular to the tracks played.

The excellent track “After the Earthquack” proceeded the opener, with its’ guitar hooks reminiscent of The Cure, hooky lyrics, and quiet transition, as Molly tenderly sings before its thunderous ending. It was followed by the shoegazy, “In Undertow”, off their 2nd album, Antisocialites. The setlist tonight mostly represented tracks off their new album, Blue Rev, respectfully, but it was nice that they added some of their more well known tracks off their first two albums, notably “Adult Diversion”, “Dreams Tonite”, “Party Police”, and crowd pleaser, “Archie, Marry Me”. The band plays impeccably well together, maybe because they are friends and enjoy their company together, but it did not sound like they missed a beat on stage and were in unison together for their entire set. There is nothing like losing yourself in an Alvvays concert, being awashed in a dreamy, shoegaze bliss. Overall, Blue Rev, sounds complete and the most musically diverse, interesting, and polished Alvvays have ever been. They ended their set with “Atop a Cake”, as the you can quietly hear fans sing-a-long with the catchy lyrics carrying into the night.

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Be sure to check out Live Nation Ontario & Collective Concerts to see all of the other great acts that they will be bringing to Toronto this year.

About author

Concert Photographer at Live in Limbo. Veggie running, musically inclined, photographer. The end.