Alvvays Is Shaking Up the College Music Scene

alvvaysA new group out of Toronto is shaking up the music scene in colleges across the nation. Alvvays, which is pronounced “Always,” is a combination of new and old, college band and old souls. Lead singer Molly Rankin is stirring up things all over the world as their debut album wakes up the masses to what music can really be. With songs like “Archie, Marry Me, which Rankin sings in her coy and mysterious way, has attracted a global following. Others like “Next of Kin,” and “Red Planet” are other instant hits on the new album.

But the band wasn’t exactly an overnight success. In fact, although they’ve just come out on the scene and appear to have risen quickly and without much effort, the band has definitely paid its dues. Here’s a brief history of their rise to (almost) fame.

Get Alvvays Tickets Right Here. Only Four U.S. Concert Dates to Choose From!

The Band’s Humble Beginnings

Lead singer Rankin and O’Hanley first got together when O’Hanley saw Rankin play the song “Mistake” on an acoustic guitar at a Two Hours Traffic show. O’Hanley was moved by the performance and said “This was one of those sympathetic nervous system responses where you get all tingly. She had a very interesting thing going on and I wanted to supplement and complement it.”

Soon after O’Hanley left Two Hours Traffic and toured with Peter Bjorn and John in 2011. The bank moved to Toronto and began making the first moves to establish a career in the music business. O’Hanley says that almost immediately, things started to click. The group worked on their album and had finished two-thirds of it when they took it to the Yoko Eno studio. The producer listened to it, and told the band it was time to find a name for themselves. The band played with a couple of names, including Logos, but finally settled on the name Always. But then they discovered there was already a pop bank in the UK with that name, so they changed the spelling to the current name.

The Beginnings of Success

In 2013, the band make a small CD in order to have something to sell at their shows. One store began to bootleg the CDs, but band reacted by shrugging their shoulders. “We didn’t actually care,” says Rankin.

The band’s sound began to evolve from a mainly acoustic sound to a fuzzy electric one, and Rankin honed in on her lyrics. Here signature lyrics became slightly jaded and dark against a background of cloyingly sweet vocals. For instance, the song “Adult Diversion” is about a drunk stalker, and it was quickly a hit. Rankin says most of her inspiration comes from the graphic novels she’s into. “And the ones that I like are usually about solitary characters: sad but pathetic, humorous situations. They are often a little bit creepy,” she says.

The Breakout

After the band made a video for “Adult Diversion,” they went on an East coast tour with Yuck, and after that the band began to see success. They released their debut album and it’s all been uphill since then. “It’s really nice that we finally get to get a shot,” says O’Hanley.

The band likes to mix things up in the music department, and that’s what makes this group so special. “We’re by and large pop formalists,” says O’Hanley. “I love chopping songs up and seeing how you can work within the pop form. I think it’s kind of cool that that’s where the avant-garde is in 2014, of all places, when electro-infected R&B or R&B-inflected electro seem to be the dominant genres.”

Where to See Alvvays

The group has ten performances scheduled this year, and only four of those are in the U.S. The can be seen in Austin, Chicago, and at two performances in San Francisco. That means if you want to see this up and coming band this year—before they get too big—you should reserve your tickets now.

At ConcertBank, we currently have available tickets to see Alvvays, but can’t guarantee that the tickets will last. And in addition to having the tickets you want, we also keep you current on all the latest happenings in the music world. We maintain a blog that informs readers about the latest news, gossip, and concert happenings, and we update it regularly. In addition, we keep our fans informed by staying current with all of our social media accounts. Check out our Facebook account, Twitter Feed, and our Google+ pages when you want to know what’s happening with your favorite group.

 

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