As Alvvays themselves are keen to point out, tonight’s show at the Concorde 2 feels like something of a homecoming gig. Brighton was the first UK city the band ever played when they performed at The Great Escape in 2014. This year has seen them go stratospheric, with a string of great shows at some of the biggest festivals in the country. Now they’ve returned to play the same place where it all began for them on this side of the Atlantic. “We’re actually seriously considering moving here” lead singer Molly Rankin confesses mid way through the show and the audience seem to think this is an excellent idea.

 

It’s only the first bar into the opening song before people start dancing. That isn’t the testosterone-fuelled moshing that can sometimes end up dominating a lively crowd, but actual dancing. “That looks like fun!” Rankin comments on the crowd’s enthusiasm. The more low-key, down tempo numbers such as ‘Party Police’ are perfect for slow swaying whilst the more up-beat ‘Next of Kin’ fizzes with contagious energy.

 

Tonight Rankin is battling a cold. But although she comments she’s having a tough time singing, apart from some of the high notes in ‘The Ones Who Love You’ she barely falters for a second. While initially she sounds timid, her voice grows in strength over the course of the show. Her voice comes out clear but totally relaxed and calming, without a trace of strain. The new music that we’re treated to tonight lives up to the promise that the bands next record is going to be heavier and faster, but those syrupy sweet melodies still remain front and center.

 

When Alvvays announce they’ve reached the final song of the show, everyone in the room knows what’s coming and it doesn’t disappoint in the slightest. “Marry Me, Archie” sounds absolutely huge and is for my money, one of the truly perfect pop songs of the last couple of years. People sing along, friends put their arms around each other’s shoulders, it feels like the whole room has become engulfed in the positive vibes this song dishes out by the bucket.

 

If tonight has proven anything, it’s that guitar music can still have a place in the discourse of pop music. The two don’t have to be put in opposition, where pop is measured as the antithesis of ‘authentic’ music, the two can quiet happily exist in the same song or same group. Alvvays are almost certainly one of those groups.

Louis Ormesher