Blue Rev

The creation of Blue Rev may have been beset with trial and tribulation but the result is a heavenly indie pop hit guaranteed to make their already besotted fans fall even more head over heels in love with the band.

Its Alvvays least penetrable, most challenging album yet — but one that still preserves the band's best qualities, sounding chaotic and painstaking at the same time.

Alvvays came out with a record that finally is large enough to contain the band’s splendor. Every song on Blue Rev is a feast, done up with effortless élan.

Blue Rev is a sublime return and whilst there’s nothing quite as instant as “Archie, Marry Me,” tracks such as the glorious “Belinda Says” or the punky breakneck distortion of “Pomeranian Spinster” are as good if not better than anything they’ve previously released.

These are all top-shelf tunes, and they serve as evidence that Rankin and O’Hanley are among the best pop-song writers working today.

Across 14 tracks, there is no obvious hit to match the enduring success of 2014’s “Archie, Marry Me” or 2017’s “Dreams Tonite,” each touting a cool 70 million listens on Spotify — massive numbers for a band that began in the outlands of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. But each song has its place and raison d’etre amid this fully realized batch of tunes detailing heartache, lonesome fury and wistful wonderment.

Blue Rev is a return that, in a strangely radical way, simply meets expectations. ... If you wanted to experience an etherealness that was anchored in experience, it was always Alvvays. And it still is.

‘Blue Rev’ is a magical, twisty excursion to a crossroads where the band simultaneously reflects on yesteryear and explores the turbulence of divergent realities.

These 14 tracks are so sonically rich with a multitude of textures, each listen peeling back just one measly layer; Molly’s vocal hooks and turns of phrase will remain in your brain days after the last listen.

Even with 14 tracks, Blue Rev never seems to outstay its welcome. That’s probably helped by some curveballs that the band throw.

Patience proved a virtue and ‘Blue Rev’ stands as an ode to continuing to evolve despite obstacles, slowly honing and tweaking your craft, and keeping on moving. It’s another total delight from the Canadians.

A honed songwriting approach from Rankin seems to fuel Blue Rev, with only a few songs inching beyond three minutes. This excess-trimming approach makes Blue Rev the leanest the band has sounded, but also makes it their tightest work to date.

The band's pivot away from fuzzed-out jangle pop to something closer to shoegaze adds to the dreamy feel. [Nov 2022, p.25]