Blue Rev
Blue Rev is the third studio album by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays, released on October 7, 2022, via Polyvinyl, Transgressive, and Celsius Girls. The album expands on the shoegaze influences from their previous albums, and received universal acclaim from critics.
Blue Rev
October 6, 2022
October 2021
38:52
- Polyvinyl
- Transgressive
- Celsius Girls
- Shawn Everett
- Molly Rankin
- Alec O'Hanley
Background[edit]
Alvvays' second album, Antisocialites was released in 2017.[1] Afterwards, the band went on an extensive tour across North America and Europe, as well as often supporting the National on their tour dates.[2] They began writing songs for Blue Rev almost immediately after the release of Antisocialites, but several events occurred which delayed the progress of the album: a thief broke into lead singer Molly Rankin's apartment and stole a recorder with several demos contained on it, and the day after, a basement flood threatened to destroy all of the band's gear.[3] The COVID-19 pandemic then created further delays, with border closures preventing the band from rehearsing as a full group. They eventually reconvened in October 2021 in a studio in Los Angeles with producer Shawn Everett; they then went on to play all of Blue Rev front-to-back twice in a single day, with 15-second breaks between songs and a 30-minute break between full album takes.[3]
On June 21, 2022, a month before the announcement of Blue Rev, the band announced a 2022 tour of the US between October and November that year.[4] Blue Rev is named after Rev, a Canadian alcoholic beverage.[5]
Music[edit]
"Pharmacist" balances the band's signature indie-pop sound with prominent shoegaze elements,[6][7] including guitar distortion and "dreamy" vocals by Molly Rankin.[7][8][9] Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork compared the song to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless.[10] Other musical influences include Morrissey and the Smiths ("Pressed"), Belinda Carlisle ("Belinda Says"), Teenage Fanclub, and Yo La Tengo.[11] The short story collection After the Quake by Japanese author Haruki Murakami inspired the lyrics of "After the Earthquake".[11]
Promotion[edit]
Blue Rev was announced on July 6, 2022, alongside the release of the lead single "Pharmacist".[12] The second single, "Easy On Your Own?", was released on August 10, 2022.[13] "Belinda Says" and "Very Online Guy" were released as a double single on September 22, 2022.[14] The final single, "After the Earthquake", was released on October 5, 2022.