Alvvays — Blue Rev

I was doing yard work several months back when, for whatever reason, I decided to give Alvvays a try.

My sole experience with the Canadian band was listening to their singles when they first came out and calling it a day. I had no clue as to their popularity until I saw Superchunk at the Bowery Ballroom and found posters for Alvvays playing a much larger venue for two sold-out dates in a row plastered throughout the venue. Apparently they had a large following, and I thought they were just okay.

Breaking down trash makes you yearn for something infinitely more thrilling, which is why I latched on to the first two Alvvays albums when I listened to them in full. Perhaps it was a better setting — was I distracted at work when I first heard their singles — or I was in a better mood, or whatever. Regardless, after several years of not thinking about Alvvays, I suddenly considered myself a minor fan.

Cut to last month’s release of the band’s third album, Blue Rev. Still very much in the indie pop world though seeping more into my beloved shoegaze genre, Blue Rev is a hooky, “vibey,” and smartly written album that somehow feels like a good hour spent in a tight 38 minutes.

Though I’m usually by default a Side-A guy for indie pop bands (as that’s where the stickiest singles are), Blue Rev is entirely well-rounded, rewarding the listener for sticking with it until the end and shedding a lot of the chaff that might come with being known as “early ‘10s indie pop darlings.” I couldn’t name a bad or filler song if I tried, which is hard to say about the bulk of the albums I’ve listened to in 2022. (Looking at you, Midnights.)

It’s among the best released this year, and I’m probably going to catch the band when they play down the street in a couple of weeks.

Noteworthy Albums Out Today

Daniel Avery - Ultra Truth
Tom Skinner - Voices Of Bishara
Ghost Orchard - Rainbow Music
R.A.P. Ferreira - 5 To The Eye With Stars
MorMor - Semblance
Laura Jean - Amateurs
Drake/21 Savage - Her Loss
Julien Chang - The Sale
Hawa - Hadja Bangoura
Phoenix - Alpha Zulu
Tenci - A Swollen River, a Well Overflowing
Dean Fertita - Tropical Gothclub
Big Joanie - Back Home
Special Interest - Endure