Alvvays’ Melodic Dream Pop Captivates Packed New York Audience

Trying to nail down a single musical genre that sums up Alvvays is a difficult challenge, as the acclaimed Canadian rock band’s sound encompasses a variety of descriptions: jangle pop, twee pop, power pop, dream pop, New Wave and indie rock. Yet, Alvvays effortlessly manages to take those diverse influences and combine them to forge a style that is uniquely their own. That approach has carried them through three critically well-received studio albums so far.

For a packed audience inside Brooklyn, New York’s Kings Theatre who saw Alvvays perform during a sold-out show on Wednesday, the last thing on their minds was categorizing the band’s melodic music. Especially for those in the venue’s front section, the audience goers were dancing to and cheering on the group fronted by singer-guitarist Molly Rankin, who is in the midst of a tour to promote Blue Rev, their first new album in five years.

On their records, Alvvays’ meticulously crafted, guitar-oriented music carries a lo-fi, atmospheric feel that recalls the great British shoegazing/dream pop bands of the 1990s—an era that included the likes of My Bloody Valentine and Lush. But in a live setting, as was the case of the Kings Theatre show, Alvvays’ music sounded a bit rawer and rocking, even punk-ish at times—as if to indicate that “we don’t try to replicate the sound of the records.”

For more than an hour, the band played a balanced and enjoyable set that drew mostly from the excellent Blue Rev, which will very likely appear on many music critics’ year-end best-of lists (In his review of the band’s latest record, NPR’s Jacob Ganz wrote: “These are 14 zippy songs that echo in your brain long after they end, largely thanks to the group’s ability to repeatedly knock reliable song machinery into a woozy disequilibrium.”

And definitely, the songs’ hooks from that record translated well onstage, beginning with the opener “Pharamcist” and through other notable numbers such as “Easy On Your Own?” and “After the Earthquake.” Of course, Alvvays delved into the other popular favorites from their previous albums, 2014’s Alvvays and 2017’s Antisocialites, including “Archie, Marry Me,” “Dreams Tonite” and “Adult Diversion.”

The band—whose current lineup includes the aforementioned Rankin along with keyboardist Kerri MacLellan, drummer Sheridan Riley, bassist Abbey Blackwell and guitarist Alec O’Hanley—really killed it with their ornate-sounding and energetic performances. And Rankin sang with her distinct wistful yet expressive vocals, contributing to some of the evening’s emotional high points like “Party Police” and “Hey.”

The five-year gap between studio albums apparently hasn’t affected Alvvays’ creative momentum as well as their ability to play at a high level, as evidenced by the turnout at their recent Brooklyn concert. Not surprisingly their upcoming Bowery Ballroom show, their other New York appearance during this tour, has already sold out. Captivating dream pop doesn’t get better than this when it comes from Alvvays.

Setlist:

Pharmacist

After the Earthquake

In Undertow

Many Mirrors

Very Online Guy

Adult Diversion

Not My Baby

Hey

Tom Verlaine

Belinda Says

Fourth Figure

Archie, Marry Me

Pomeranian Spinster

Pressed

Dreams Tonite

Party Police

Easy On Your Own?

Saved by a Waif

Encore:

Next of Kin

Lottery Noises