Five years after their sophomore album release, Canadian indie pop band Alvvays are back with a bright and shiny new single, “Pharmacist” along with a new album announcement and fall headlining tour dates including a Los Angeles concert date at the Wiltern on Oct. 29.
This post may contain affiliate links. Ads and affiliate links are how independent blogs like Grimy Goods can operate and pay our staff. Thank you for supporting our work and being a part of our music community
“Pharmacist” is a dreamy tune, all encompassing and filled to the brim with a classic indie sound. Its soft vocals, laid down by singer Molly Rankin, permeate the air like a subtle, but sweet scent and its light airbrushed edges are embossed in a bubblegum pop layer of an effortless cool.
While their new single is such an easy listen, the road to “Pharmacist” and the band’s upcoming new album, Blue Rev, was a precarious and unexpected journey. The band began work on preliminary bits and pieces for their third album shortly after releasing 2017’s Antisocialites, but they encountered a plethora of challenges and setbacks that include theft of their recorded demos and complications rehearsing and recording in person due to global lockdowns, border closures and social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
But, in 2021, when the band found themselves in L.A. with fellow Canadian Shawn Everett (The War on Drugs and Kacey Musgraves), who urged the band to just play through the entire album and record it straight to tape, Alvvays ripped through their tracks with a raw honesty, fueled by the last few years of challenges to keep their new songs alive, that can be felt in “Pharmacist” and throughout the entire album.
Alvvays are Molly Rankin (vocals and guitar), Kerri MacLellan (keyboards), Alec O’Hanley(guitars), Abbey Blackwell (bass) and Sheridan Riley (drums). Their new album, Blue Rev drops Oct. 7. Named for the sugary alcoholic beverage Rankin and MacLellan used to drink as teens on rural Cape Breton, the album looks back, but also takes a step forward to explore a new uncertain reality.
Alvvays go on tour late this fall with supporting act Slow Pup. Their on-the-road stint will see them in California late October with a show scheduled for Los Angeles on Oct. 29 at the Wiltern. Other stops in California include: Oct. 24 in Arcata, CA at the Arcata Theatre Lounge; Oct. 26 and 27 in San Francisco at The Fillmore; and Oct. 30 in San Diego at the Observatory North Park.
Words: Patti Sanchez
For more on Alvvays, make sure to visit their website and follow them on Instagram and Twitter.
2022 Tour Dates:
08/16 – Chicago, IL @ Here and There Festival – The Salt Shed
10/14 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre $
10/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave. $
10/18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot $
10/19 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory $
10/20 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom $
10/21 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre $
10/22 – Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre $
10/24 – Arcata, CA @ Arcata Theatre Lounge $
10/26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore $
10/27 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore $
10/29 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern $
10/30 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park $
11/02 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater $
11/04 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall – Downstairs $
11/05 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio at The Factory $
11/07 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse $
11/08 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works $
11/09 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel $
11/11 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club $
11/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Franklin Music Hall $
11/15 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall $
11/16 – New York, NY @ Kings Theater $
11/18 – Boston, MA @ Roadrunner $
$ w/ Slow Pulp
