Alvvays

There is a flipside, however – just ask Captain Cook. You are isolated, the sea a suffocating presence at every turn, the ferry to the mainland probably haunted. But that very removal can be the genesis for great creativity. As Molly Rankin explains, solace is sometimes a very inspiring thing. With Sydney’s Spectrum Now festival fast approaching, the Alvvays frontwoman talks tunes, travel and tiny pianos.

“Right now I’m in my apartment in Toronto and it’s snowing out,” Rankin says. “I don’t have a job right now, and I no longer have a roommate, so the back room in my apartment is now a weird sort of studio space that I can make noise in. That’s a nice little spot for me. I think being isolated is a good thing. When I moved to Prince Edward Island [off the coast of Canada], there’s a bit more going on there in the summertime, but then it gets really, really isolated in the winter. I would say really bad weather, boredom and depression played a role in all the songs. Kerri [MacLellan] and I were just being bored all the time, and that’s sort of how we became relatively creative. Also being away from multiple devices at all times. It’s good to cut the smartphone from the situation, so it’s not some constant influence. I’m not a phone scolder by any means, but for me it’s more an obstacle than a tool. I know that there’s a sunny scene to the record [2014’s Alvvays]at times, but I think maybe the sheer isolation of winter inspired the need for sunlight.”

It’s interesting to note that while Rankin and MacLellan grew up on one island – Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia – the remainder of their band grew up on another: Alec O’Hanley, Brian Murphy and Phil MacIsaac were original residents of Prince Edward. Clearly there exists some music-imbued archipelago off the Canadian coast. While Rankin released a solo EP in 2010, it wasn’t until Alvvays formed the following year that momentum truly started to build. They have since toured extensively and supported some high-profile names – The Decemberists, Peter Bjorn and John – and although Rankin loves to perform, it is something the band came to rather late in the game.

“We hadn’t played any shows, really, before we made our first record,” she says. “All I notice now when we play is that the songs I’m most excited to play, the ones we enjoy onstage, are the ones that people like the most. That could just be in my head, but I think you have to take a certain amount of responsibility for what you’re giving to the crowd. I have a bit of a lethargic vibe onstage, but I don’t really believe in bad crowds per se. I think it’s a give and take.

“Live shows and touring is also something I’ve always wanted to do. I don’t find it incredibly awful as some do, and we can sort of break even when we go on tour. It’s a really great way to spend your 20s, to travel around the world with your friends doing something you love doing. Festivals can be sort of scary, because a lot of that stuff is out of your hands. But if you get good, if you’re comfortable, then I find it a really gratifying thing.”

The fact Alvvays supported The Decemberists is something the fanboy in me simply can’t leave unexplored, and at the risk of discovering that a favourite band is actually a bunch of jerks who set fire to horses and beat up the elderly, I cautiously press Rankin for her insider information.

“Ha, that was certainly the most lavish tour we’ve ever been on! Actually, that was way beyond anything we’d ever done before in terms of production. They were very nice to us, and their audience was also very welcoming. We hadn’t played a tonne of theatre venues, and it took us a few shows to get used to that. It was really stepping outside our comfort zone, playing for people who are looking for their seats with house lights on, having a clock by your monitor so you don’t go a second overtime. We’d never done anything like that. It was also a great way to get over my stage fright, because you’re totally exposed. I have a bit of nervous energy, but I’ve gotten over a pretty big chunk of that. I’m pretty much just myself. It’s more depending on the day – if I actually have something to talk about, I’ll be more engaged. But I don’t have a shtick or anything. I don’t have an alter ego.”

Their upcoming tour marks the first time Alvvays will visit Australia, and fear of festivals notwithstanding, Spectrum Now will provide a great opportunity to engage with a whole new fan base. You can also catch them at Plan B Small Club, or if you’re lucky, backstage with a tiny piano.

“I usually grab Kerri beforehand and we’ll warm up together,” says Rankin. “I have a tiny miniature piano, and we just get all the notes and keys off that, because neither of us has good pitch,” she laughs. “It’s not something that I initially loved doing, but it’s become really helpful to performing. I guess when you’re not on a tour bus going somewhere, you don’t have a lot of time. I’m usually setting up merch before we go on. Rock star.”