Discover the bittersweet sound of breakout band Alvvays
The Canadian indie band is making a splash with their sunny melodies and bittersweet lyrics.
Canadian indie band Alvvays are making a splash with their sunny melodies and bittersweet lyrics awash in reverb and lo-fi haze.
Jian talks to the buzzed-about band, led by frontwoman Molly Rankin, who's related to the influential Celtic music group The Rankin Family. She talks about the how the band came to be, how her famed musical past informs her work and how they feel about named a band-to-watch by tastemakers like NME, BBC and Pitchfork.
"We had low expectations, never thinking that any of the songs would be on the radio realistically," Rankin tells Jian, adding that all the positive attention is a "nice surprise."
But she also says that life for the band -- comprised of fellow East Coast musicians Kerri MacLellan, Alec O'Hanley, Brian Murphy and Phil MacIsaac -- hasn't really changed. "We still work our jobs. Brian fries bacon every morning," she says. "I just stopped cleaning toilets -- I'm a server now."
Rankin says her lifestyle has always been modest, despite being a descendent of one of Canada's most revered musical acts, The Rankin Family. (Her father, John Morris, founded the group.)
She remembers going to her grandmother's house as a child and watching her family perform on the Junos on television -- but says her father was "scruffy" and "down-to-earth." Of her family life, she says, "it wasn't super glamorous -- we lived in the woods."
Rankin says her musical lineage and the band's Cape Breton roots have had an impact on their new album, which Jian describes as "truly infectious." She says there are underlying Celtic melodies in the record. "I don't think those things really go away."
Alvvays performs live in Studio Q from their self-titled debut record, which comes out next Tuesday. You can stream the album in advance between July 15-21 at CBCMusic.ca.
Jian talks to the buzzed-about band, led by frontwoman Molly Rankin, who's related to the influential Celtic music group The Rankin Family. She talks about the how the band came to be, how her famed musical past informs her work and how they feel about named a band-to-watch by tastemakers like NME, BBC and Pitchfork.
But she also says that life for the band -- comprised of fellow East Coast musicians Kerri MacLellan, Alec O'Hanley, Brian Murphy and Phil MacIsaac -- hasn't really changed. "We still work our jobs. Brian fries bacon every morning," she says. "I just stopped cleaning toilets -- I'm a server now."
Rankin says her lifestyle has always been modest, despite being a descendent of one of Canada's most revered musical acts, The Rankin Family. (Her father, John Morris, founded the group.)
She remembers going to her grandmother's house as a child and watching her family perform on the Junos on television -- but says her father was "scruffy" and "down-to-earth." Of her family life, she says, "it wasn't super glamorous -- we lived in the woods."
Alvvay's self-titled debut record comes out Tuesday on Royal Mountain in Canada and on Polyvinyl in the U.S.
Alvvays performs live in Studio Q from their self-titled debut record, which comes out next Tuesday. You can stream the album in advance between July 15-21 at CBCMusic.ca.