Live Review: Alvvays - O2 Kentish Town Forum, London 24/05/2023
The Canadian quintet, Alvvays, are currently on their UK tour and I had the fortune of being able to hear the material from their latest album Blue Rev (2022) as well the classics from their self-titled debut Alvvays (2014) & their intermediate album Antisocialites (2017).
Rewinding back two hours, the sold-out venue was filling with punters who were eager to see the band’s support act Ex-Void - a jangly, alternative foursome. It is always interesting to see who bands choose to support and in some ways represent their style & image, and Ex-Void is a fantastic choice. The band sung of tales of love and heartbreak, uncomfortable feelings, uneasy conversations and a deep dive into the feelings of the young and lonely. The harmonies and occasional duet between the front-woman and her male counterparts was a real highlight of their set, and echoed the time of the 90s and early 2000s where singers of both sexes being unified in one band was more a trend than it is today.
The jaunty, poppy but guitar-heavy band were a fantastic introduction for Alvvays as their own pop-rock riffs and ability to create a lucid and tangible atmosphere prepared us for the main event.
The band came on at about 9:15pm, and the airy sound and vision of Alvvays brandished the room. The lighting is always important for dream-pop bands such as Alvvays as it helps create an ethereal atmosphere and feeling amongst the crowd, and their choice of cyan and white lights hitting the audience allowed this energy to grow. Molly Rankin, the front-woman, singer & guitarist, was her usual endearing and sweet self, enquiring about Kentish Town and stating how nice it is to be back to here (thanks, Molly) and then her and her fellow bandmates wowed us with two songs from the newest album: ‘Pharmacist’ and ‘After the Earthquake’. One might think this was a bold move - to lift off a gig with two songs which aren’t immediate crowd-pleasers, but this was a fantastic choice. The audience got to see Alvvays as they are now, and what motifs they are exploring as a band nearly ten years on from their debut. The lyricism and general vibe seems nostalgic of childhood, and years past like being in a “drive through crying in a milkshake” & “looking back to the vibrant days” (‘After the Earthquake’) and the home-movie style backdrop that complemented the band’s Blue Rev material added to the feelings of nostalgia. It is also worth mentioning that Alvvays fans are not desperately awaiting one of their more notorious pieces, but utterly engrossed from the moment the band started playing.
We barely had time to catch our breath before we were ‘In Undertow’, and classics such as ‘Adult Diversion’ and ‘Not My Baby’ played in succession, with the keyboard & bass in full swing. This was a smart move, as the crowd were geared up for the rest of Blue Rev and with Rankin’s gushing about peonies and the wonders of our airports, the crowd were all singing along and immersed in their arty, angelic performance.
Their most well-known song, ‘Archie, Marry Me’ was played towards the end of their set, almost to build up the anticipation of when everyone drunkenly could belt out the song in the arms of their friends. It was such a delight to witness the performance of such an iconic and fundamental song of the alternative 2010s. The band kept the energy up, performing the more guitar-heavy, harsher songs of their latest album such as ‘Pomeranian Spinster’ and ‘Tile By Tile’ and subsequently ended the second half of the set with the heartwarming & body-swaying ballads of ‘Dreams Tonite’ & ‘Easy On Your Own?’.
The crowd were desperate for an encore, and no-one was making tracks until the last light dimmed out. The band let loose a bit more, the celestial image of Alvvays being shattered just a smidge by their electric and enthusiastic farewell to the crowd.
It is pertinent to mention just how perfect the band sounded from start to finish, the vocals were absolutely stunning, and the whole hour and twenty minutes was a cornucopia of dreamy chords, keys, drums and tambourines.
Words by Megan Budgen
Photography by Abigail Shii
