TAKE BACK THURSDAY: “ALVVAYS” BY ALVVAYS
Dream-pop group Alvvays broke onto the indie scene with their self-titled debut album that was released on July 22, 2014. Their first released track, “Archie, Marry Me,” has lived on to become an indie-pop classic. Racking up almost 100 million streams to date, the song launched the group to fame, with an album following shortly after.
“Adult Diversion” opens the album with a bang. The track begins with a low-pitched and quick-moving guitar lick beside some snare drum taps. It sets the scene with lyrics about a craving to know someone. “How do I get close to you? / Even if you don’t notice, as I admire you on the subway.” “Archie, Marry Me” takes the cake as one of my (if not my absolute) favorite indie-pop songs of all time. I know, I know… huge statement. Once you listen to it, you’ll know why. The introduction of chattering birds quickly followed by airy electric guitar strums cuts out to lead singer Molly Rankin’s tale of someone running away with a person they admire in their life. Her voice sounds yearning as she sings, “You’ve expressed explicitly your contempt for matrimony.” But the feelings are mutual, and the yearning is just to run away. The melody is simple, but oh, so sweet, as Rankin pleads, “Hey, hey / Marry me, Archie.”
“Ones Who Love You” is another one of my highlights. Coming in with a light drum beat and reverbed guitar picking, the song is a more haunting side to the record. “Take from the ones who love you / Leave with the ones who don’t,” Rankin advises. Her vocals are slightly distorted in front of the production, leaving the listener with an otherworldly feeling, which is very fitting since the track later touches on being in outer space. “Next of Kin” is a change of pace, lyrically. Rankin tells a story of two lovers walking on rocks beside a river, where one seemingly drowns. The track has some of the poppiest sounds across the album, with the intro and recurring guitar lick sure to sweep anyone away.
Much of the record seems to toy with the concept of being so far away from finding reciprocated love with someone, such as “Party Police.” Over flurries of drawn-out guitar chords, the low-pitched guitar picking matches Rankin’s melody over the choruses in a different octave, making the melody even catchier (if possible). “You don’t have to leave / You could just stay here with me,” she sings, almost desperately. “The Agency Group” continues this theme in a more ominous tone. The song depicts rifling through a toxicology report, and two lovers who seem to be doomed for each other (but they still stay). Rankin sings, as the production amps up, “The sun is gone / When you whisper you don’t think of me that way / When I mention you don’t mean that much to me.”
Photo credit: Polyvinyl Records
The following two tracks, “Dives” and “Atop a Cake” both see the narrator, presumably Rankin, crave a life that was promised but never given in the two lovers’ relationship. Between the Beach House-esque and airy production of “Dives” and the playful delivery of “Atop a Cake,” the two feel like two parts of a story taken from different points of said relationship. Closing track “Red Planet” takes the perspective of the narrator from a future on Mars, looking back on the fondest and worst moments of their love, from the “autumn blaze” to waiting “for forever.” The songwriting is vivid, the sounds are spacey and the ending is, by any means, not happy. But it is peaceful.
Across nine tracks with themes like yearning, outer space and loneliness, Alvvays cemented their place as one of indie pop's best names. They have gone on to release two more critically acclaimed albums and did a dual tour with fellow indie musician Alex G last year.
Alvvays is available to buy and stream on all platforms.