The frontwoman of the indie-pop gems on a rare appearance in Ireland, for Beyond the Pale, and music’s broken economy
Beyond the Pale 2024: Alvvays will cross the Atlantic for their first Irish show in more than a decade. Photograph: Eleanor Petry
“There are probably little weird mistakes that were captured on all of those recordings,” says Rankin. “I was watching an Abba documentary the other day, and I do feel as though I would inhabit that mindset of only using the stuff that can be remembered, anyway. You’re choosing the most poppy, sticky melodies that swirl around in your head, regardless of recording them or not.”
To an outsider, The Strokes and Alvvays might seem musical, philosophical and spiritual opposites. The former are old-school rock rogues, who have lived fast and seen some things. Alvvays, by contrast, are eternal indie-disco kids, more likely to be found discussing their favourite French novelist than necking a bottle of vodka. To Rankin’s surprise, however, they all got on fabulously.
Alvvays are one of the bands at the sharp end of the debate about where the music industry is going in this era of collapsing royalties and rising touring costs. They have 1.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, but the payments they receive are not nearly enough to cover their rent and other expenses. Before the pandemic, touring was their main source of income. Yet now overheads are spiralling – one reason, says Rankin, why they haven’t played in Ireland for so long.
Whatever the future, the band – and their fans – will always have Blue Rev, a pocket masterpiece that confirms Alvvays as one of the great modern exponents of indie escapism. Rankin regards the LP as a lesson in the benefits of maturity. Alvvays play Beyond the Pale, in Glendalough, Co Wicklow, on Friday, June 21st; the festival runs until Sunday, June 23rd
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