ALVVAYS - Canada Tour

Alvvays is a band that has been on our radar for a while. Last year, 'Blue Rev,' combined shoegaze + indie pop aesthetics to create a masterpiece of an album. On Rate Your Music, the album is currently ranked 8th for all releases in 2022, 'Belinda Says,' was Pitchfork's (2022) song of the year, and the band garnered praise from critics and audiences alike. We've seen dozens of shows in MacEwan Ballroom and have never seen it so packed.

Listening through Alvvay's 'Blue Rev' feels like an ethereal dream that transports you to a domain existence separate from one's own. The psychedelic undertones of this album's experience fall over you, captivating your conscious attention with lush + atmospheric lyrics. It brings forth feelings at a subconscious level, separate from one's conscious awareness. You experience so many different emotions with a project like this; it's impossible to describe but understood when experienced.

We're a fan of all types of music at ethereal.press, but often the best shows in our city typically consist of rap and electronic (EDM) music. Alvvays was the first recent show announcement outside of that category that caught our eye, and we knew we had to cover it.

The performance was stellar, and we loved lead vacalist Molly Rankin's guitar, which is visibly scratched up due to extensive use. The band played various live instruments and killed the performance (to no one's surprise). The background visuals were stylistically reminiscent of VHS and 8mm film, which layered abstract shapes across the screen. It was reminiscent of the album visualizers the band released on YouTube (created by Colby Richardson).

This was one of those rare shows where you get to see a high-calibre band close-up. A show like this makes you happy to be a music lover.

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