It’s been five years since Alvvays released their sophomore album Antisocialites, immediately becoming one of indie rock’s most endearing acts. Following up on the honesty and quaint daydreams of their self-titled debut, it proved that Alvvays had a lot in the tank and were a special band. But nary a peep on the new music front has emanated from the Canadian quintet’s camp since then, and it’s because of an insane series of events.
While the band started writing the newly announced Blue Rev shortly after Antisocialites came out in 2017, they became a touring machine; one that simply does not write and record while they’re on tour. Then, someone broke into singer and primary songwriter Molly Rankin’s apartment, swiping a recorder that contained the band’s recent demos. The next day, the basement flooded in Alvvays’ practice/storage space and their gear was compromised. Then the pandemic hit, the Canada/US border closed , and it made it hard for all five members who live on both sides of that border to be in the same room, let alone a studio together.
But Alvvays weathered the proverbial storm and after teasing new music two weeks ago when they announced tour dates for 2022, their third album, Blue Rev, is officially due out on October 7th. The band worked with six-time Grammy-winning producer/engineer/mixer Shawn Everett (The War On Drugs, King Princess, Kacey Musgraves) in Los Angeles, and things just clicked once again. The band recorded the album straight to tape and the rest will soon be history.
With the album announcement, also comes the release of Blue Rev’s opening track, “Pharmacist,” which should no doubt quell the five year wait for new music from the pride and joy of Prince Edward Island while we await the album in full.
Listen to “Pharmacist” above and check out the Blue Rev album artwork and tracklist below.
1. “Pharmacist”
2. “Easy On Your Own?’
3. “After The Earthquake”
4. “Tom Verlaine”
5. “Pressed”
6. “Many Mirrors”
7. “Very Online Guy”
8. “Velveteen”
9. “Tile By Tile”
10. “Pomeranian Spinster”
11. “Belinda Says”
12. “Bored in Bristol”
13. “Lottery Noises”
14. “Fourth Figure”
Blue Rev is out 10/7 via Polyvinyl. Pre-order it here.
