Where: Berghain Kantine, Berlin
Alvvays is an indie pop band hailing all the way from Toronto, Canada (much to the dismay of Germans everywhere, it is not actually pronounced all-vayz). Their music possesses all the cuteness of the 60s girl group sound with the bite of 90s grunge. Their lyrics err on the bitter side, albeit endearingly. The way lead singer molly Rankin so effortlessly sings a pleading line like, “You don’t have to leave, you can just stay here with me/Forget all the party police, we can find comfort in debauchery,” perfectly encapsulates the way Alvvays marries regret and remorse with a cheery twee sound.
If you weren’t quick enough to snag a ticket to the alt-J show on February 11th, the Absolutely Free gig (which is, unfortunately, absolutely NOT free) could prove to be a superb substitute. This Toronto band’s music would most likely fall under the “galactic psych rock” category (think Tame Impala’s music if all the members were replaced by Martian robots). In keeping with the space theme, they were recently featured on a compilation album comprised solely of songs composed with actual sound recordings from space (because of course that’s a thing). While many of their songs would definitely be considered hefty length-wise, it’s still incredibly easy to get lost in the universe of sound they create. And yes, I’ve totally just recommended two Toronto-based bands starting with the letter “a,” what of it?
Soundcheck Charlie 