Alvvays

No one mentions 'Ones Who Love You' which is my #1 by some distance

^^^ yes!! definitely up there with the aforementioned

I listened to both albums today and there really isn't much in it. I don't think there's anything close to a bad song on either. Archie might still be my favourite song of theirs but they have a bunch that come close (Party Police, Atop A Cake, Plimsoll Punks, In Undertow, Ones Who Love You).

It's great and heartwarming to see how popular they've become so quickly. At work we have to re-order their albums on a fairly regular basis. When I talk to people about them, they're always so excited about them. One guy said they were his favourite band and this was before the second album had even be released. I've also seen them mentioned as influences by some of the best artists around (The Beths and Hatchie both named them as one of their favourite current bands). Great scores on Rate Your Music too. Interestingly Antisocialites has a higher score and a lot more ratings.

Can anyone throw out some recommendations for other bands which trade in this brand of wistful, understated pop perfection?
Real Estate comes close to the particular rainy-day melancholy I'm after, but I'm looking for a new fix.

bust 'em green by henry's dress, today by galaxie 500, you forgot it in people by broken social scene...

...dunno. i reckon alvvays are the only contemporary guitar pop band worth bothering with to be honest.

first thing i think of is the beths

actually, scratch that. wistful, understated pop perfection, yes. but rainy-day melancholy, no

Japanese Breakfast are probably my favourite current band who do what you describe. Soft Sounds From Another Planet in particular has become one of my most played albums of the decade.

Crying, Charly Bliss and Snail Mail

Cults, maybe?

Luby Sparks?

Veronica Falls

The Clientele

Um, that was more a response to the described theme + Real Estate reference. Otherwise not sure if relevant.

Sacred Paws

Actually the Clientele is pretty close to what I was looking for (also, kudos for making a suggestion that doesn't have a female singer)
Some other solid recommendations above -- thanks ILM!

self titled best guitar album of the past decade or what? still stunning, never bored

lmao sorry i made this same post a year ago. i've got a buzz on today.

goddammit i thought this revive was gonna be a new album

btw, anyone who like Alvvays should definitely check out FRITZ right now:

https://fritzmusic.bandcamp.com/album/pastel-2

*likes

Damn that revive got my hopes up.

sorreeee. i'll get on fritz, ty

for maximum Alvvays-ish-ness, start with "Pastel" ... but the whole album is really good

Okay the false alarm may have been worth it for the FRITZ recommendation. This is solid, and definitely scratches the same itch.

it's so good. i paid way too much to ship the record from Australia, lol

second alvvays album >>> first alvvays album (I like both though)

it's a Perfect From Now On <-> Keep It Like A Secret-ian situation

FRITZ reminds me of Black Tambourine.

Somehow I missed this last year, but they've started playing 2 new songs live:
Many Mirrors
After the Earthquake
Wasn't sure we'd ever see an LP3, but this seems promising.

How has it been almost five years since Antisocialites?

I'm still looking forward to a new album but The Beths stole their thunder a bit for me. It seems likely that they'll already be on their third album by the time this Alvvays one comes out.

Yesss!

https://www.stereogum.com/2192254/alvvays-pharmacist-blue-rev/music/

TRACKLIST:
01 “Pharmacist”
02 “Easy On Your Own?”
03 “After The Earthquake”
04 “Tom Verlaine”
05 “Pressed”
06 “Many Mirrors”
07 “Very Online Guy”
08 “Velveteen”
09 “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.

Awesome news!

LETS GOOOOO

yay!

The new song is interesting, it sounds like a more psychedelic/dissociated take on the Antisocialites sound.

Thankful for this thread popping up. I've ignored Alvvays previously but just giving then a listen now. They're really good! Reminds me of Camera Obscura but a little less cloying.

Fresh single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWfG7F-TAWY

New songs so far seem weirdly tuneless imho

To me they seem not so much tuneless as structureless.
Both of their prior albums were slow growers for me though, so I've learned to give this band time.

haven't listened to these yet but I love how every title on the tracklist sounds like a great Alvvays song

Yea they have upped the bleary discord - very dreamy but I reckon the tunes will become wedged in yr brain all the same & will probably have more staying power because of it. Personally I’m into it.

Yea they have upped the bleary discord - very dreamy but I reckon the tunes will become wedged in yr brain all the same & will probably have more staying power because of it. Personally I’m into it.

IDK, I think these songs are *plenty* tuneful and structured, albeit not as immediately hooky as the first two albums. It's totally fine by me, I'm just amped that they're back.

YES very good agree agree still plenty tuneful - just a bit more hazy muck swirling around in the mix which is a welcome evolution cos it sorta adds shades of appropriate menace & ambiguity to the wistful crescendos & sticky hummers.

this band sounds exactly like if Johnny Boy covered Camera Obscura's "Lloyd I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken"

I stand by this!

I love this band. I learned yesterday that the lead singer is a Rankin? that is interesting!

i don't know things so i had to look that up

Molly Rankin, the group's singer-songwriter, is the daughter of John Morris Rankin,[4] a fiddler with the Celtic folk family collective the Rankin Family, who enjoyed international success in the 1990s.[5][6]

additionally,

The group toured heavily in support of their debut, including slots at Glastonbury 2015 and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2016.[20] In addition to album material, Alvvays often performs cover songs of artists such as Kirsty MacColl ("He's on the Beach"), Camera Obscura ("Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken"), the Hummingbirds ("Alimony"), the Primitives ("Crash") and Deerhunter ("Nosebleed") among others.[21]

alvvays often

Nevver sometimes; alvvays

Gave the new album a half listen. I'm not a fan of the production. It seems to lack dynamics, like it's been compressed to within an inch of its life.

Interestingly they recorded it live in two marathon sessions with 15 second breaks between songs, then came back to overdub and mix. Perhaps the compression is an overcompensating move.

I guess it's nice enough. The songs aren't as hooky as past efforts, but could be growers. I'll give it another chance.

I think it's terrific. They maybe should've cut a couple songs at the end, but generally I love that they wrote great songs and then went in and played them once and then started messing with 'em.

"Many Mirrors" and "Pomeranian Spinster" are awesome.