O'Hanley (left) and Rankin (right) on tour in 2014
Alvvays emerged in the early 2010s as an outfit for singer-songwriter Molly Rankin. Rankin's father fronted the Celtic folk collective the Rankin Family, which enjoyed success in Canada in the 1990s.[3][4] She released an extended play, She, in 2010, with partner Alec O'Hanley assisting. As her writing style evolved, the duo shifted towards writing with a band in mind, and O'Hanley increased his involvement in songwriting.[5] They recruited her childhood friend Kerri MacLellan as keyboardist, as well as bassist Brian Murphy, and drummer Phil MacIsaac. In 2012, they relocated to Toronto, and supported acts Peter Bjorn and John and The Joy Formidable on tours; they began road-testing certain songs, including "Archie", at these concerts.[6]
The album was recorded in March 2013 at Yoko Eno, a studio in Calgary, Alberta owned by musician Chad VanGaalen. The team sought out VanGaalen due to his work on the Women record Public Strain (2010). They utilized VanGaalen's guitars for added distortion and reverb.[7] Rankin called the experience "colorful and engaging" in an interview, noting that VanGaalen was an interesting host and complimenting his percussive suggestions.[5] Drums on the track were handled by Eric Hamelin, best-known for his work with Ghostkeeper. VanGaalen suggested that they devise a band name for the project, predicting Rankin would be subject to singer-songwriter connotations if not.[7] The group created the moniker Alvvays, a play on the word "always", which Rankin liked because of its sentimental quality.[5]Holy Fuck's Graham Walsh assisted with tracking at his studio, Basketball4Life, while veteran engineer John Agnello served as mixer.[8] The album and song were mixed at Agnello's Brooklyn space, Music Valve Studios. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi and Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound.
Two singles were released before the album, "Archie, Marry Me" on April 6, 2013 and "Adult Diversion" on October 29, 2013. The album was released on July 22, 2014. Around the time of the album's release, "Archie, Marry Me" became popular online, and would prove to be the band's breakthrough hit. [11]
The album would see moderate commercial success, peaking at 107 on the UK albums chart, and 12 on the US Heatseekers charts, but failed to be certified by either the RIAA or BPI.
The album received acclaim from critics, and has a 78/100 on Metacritic, indicating "Generally favorable reviews,' according to 22 critics. Allmusic's Fred Thomas gave the album five stars and described it as, "a brief but bright collection of nine songs of nearly perfect, sugar-coated indie pop." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Rolling Stone gave the album four stars, noting, "It’s a rare treat to discover a debut like Alvvays‘. Each of the nine songs on the Toronto band’s first LP is a sharply drawn indie-pop wonder, steeped in romance, wit and melody." Lanre Bakare of The Guardian was less positive, saying, "They certainly have their sound down (reverb-laced guitars, big choruses, surf-tinged moments), but there's a lack of variety here. Still, there are some genuinely great moments, including album closer Red Planet, on which the band move away from indie-rock and show they can splice synths with sadness."
