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Rock

Happy Anniversary, Archie: Alvvays' Debut Record Gets a 10th Birthday Re-Issue

The Canadian jangle pop group's first album will be available on a new cerulean blue vinyl with an unearthed bonus track, as well as the ten original songs — including breakout single 'Archie, Marry Me' — that launched their career in 2014.

Alvvays

Alvvays

Norman Wong

A major Canadian indie rock album turns 10 today (July 22), and the band is celebrating with a special re-issue.

Alvvays' self-titled debut helped the group break through on an international scale, propelled by jangly guitars, aloof vocals and an expertly catchy single. "Archie, Marry Me," with its soaring chorus and pleading lyrics, became a wedding song for a generation of ambivalent millennials, earnest and sardonic at the same time.


That song helped land the band on a host of best-of 2014 lists, as well as major festival stages like Glastonbury and Coachella. The album's success established them at the forefront of a new era of indie music marked more by dreamy atmospherics than bombast and maximalism. Produced by Alberta's Chad VanGaalen, Alvvays was a perfect marriage of storytelling and mood, designed to soundtrack the hazy heartbreaks of youth.

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Ten years later, with two more full-lengths in their discography — as well as two Juno Awards and their recent first Grammy nomination — the band are looking back on the record that launched them. A remastered vinyl-only edition, in cerulean blue, will feature deep cut bonus track, "Underneath Us." It also comes complete with a hand-drawn fold out poster by VanGaalen.

The band are touring alongside the anniversary, with upcoming Canadian dates at Area 506 in Saint John, New Brunswick on August 2 and Osheaga in Montreal on August 4. In December, they'll play three dates at Toronto's Concert Hall, one of which is already sold out.

The new edition of Alvvays is out November 15, and available for pre-order now.

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Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.
Courtesy Photo

Not By Choice on MuchOnDemand on MuchMusic in 2002.

FYI

Obituary: Mike Bilcox of Ajax, Ontario Pop-Punk Band Not By Choice

Former drummer and now head of Round One Sports & Entertainment Liam Killeen pens this tribute to his former bandmate, with words from The Feldman Agency's Jeff Craib, Sum 41's Dave Baksh, Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau and more.

Mike Bilcox, lead singer and guitarist of Ajax, Ontario’s second most famous pop-punk band, Not By Choice, passed away on June 21, at age 48.

Mike started Not By Choice with his Ajax High School friend Glenn ‘Chico’ Dunning back in 1997. They had initially played a few shows under different names that may or may not be suitable for print, but our moniker came from Mike bothering his younger sister Chrissy at the dinner table. When she couldn’t take any more of his taunting, she promptly told her Mom, Pat, that he was annoying her – Pat yelled ‘Well, he’s your brother!’ to which Chrissy quickly replied ‘Yeah, not by choice!’. With that, a real band was born.

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