Blue Rev, Alvvays (7/10)

Alvvays finally dropped the new album!! "Blue Rev" came out on 10/7/22 from Celsius Girls. I spent a long time trying to decide if I should give this a 6 or a 7, but decided on a 7. It's good! On first listen, I was a little underwhelmed after how much I fucked with the first single, "Pharmacist," but on second listen I started hearing a lot more nuance and things that I appreciated. I've always liked but not loved Alvvays, but I do think they are stepping it up on this album. It's a bit poppy for me but they are just shredderssss you gotta admit (it comes out every few songs) and they experiment with some synth ("Very Online Guy") and other sounds on this album that I enjoy. They've got a great kind of 90's retro indie pop sound, one that reminded me of Aha in the song "Velveteen." Very decent album here. Favorite tracks: Pharmacist, After the Earthquake, Belinda Says