Canadian five-piece Alvvays completely hooked a full house at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds with their splendid take on obdurate social moments and unreciprocated love. While setting their tales to breezy, literate their indie-rock is, unusual and imaginative. It may at times swagger along a winding complicated route but it never becomes pointless. Songs about marriage, lovers and rejection (sometimes all in one song) are all covered with Molly Rankin’s velvet vocal, it’s sober and intelligent, and they certainly have a unique sound. Reverb guitars, gigantic choruses and melancholic softness. But there’s also enough variety when they play. There are some unaffectedly prodigious moments for example Red Planet, where the band show they can splice synths with sadness. Maybe the crowd were a little too polite at times. Alvvays feed I would suggest on connecting with the heart and soul of their burgeoning following. Fresh and exciting they’ll no doubt be around for a long time. Able support too from Moon King. Toronto native Daniel Benjamin and collaborator/co-conspirator Maddy Wilde have been making music together for most of their lives as Moon King, the two singers weave dreamlike harmonies over buzz-saw guitars and electronic percussion, their live performances capturing a raw-nerve intensity that verges on blissful.
Alvvays
Moon King
For our interview with Alvvays, click here.
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Review and Photos by Stuart Glossop | @StuartofLeeds | Facebook