Okay. I had probably already heard about ten of these. But your list reminded me to check out the newest Pains of Being album, plus the Arkells thing is amazing, and I didn't realize The World Is a Beautiful Place had a new EP this year. And I'm really jealous of your shows, I didn't see hardly anyone this year. Yeah I mean the Hold Steady alone make it a banner year, but you have quality and quantity both. Plus the crowd was not fucking having it with Craig Finn. No Alvvays?
Whats this about the Hold Steady? I saw them live (for free) a few years ago and wasn't overly impressed. Craig Finn was belligerently hammered and every song sounded the same. However, I've since come to like "Boys & Girls in America" a lot. I've heard of Alvvays but hadn't checked them out. I'm listening to them now and I'm liking it, I think I'll download the album. Thanks!
One of my favorite bands ever. I can pile superlatives on top of each other but what's the point? Lyrics like "I went back to start a band of course" and "When one townie falls in the forest, does anyone notice?" They weren't great live, but it was a terrible venue and crowd. I think seeing them in about 2008 in a dive would have been one of the great shows of my time. THS paints a picture of a bleak bunch of teenagers growing up too fast and doing a lot of drugs and not liking it. That's either what my childhood was, or what I wanted it to be; never decided. Alvvays did an album which I would put in my top five if I actually made a list, which I'm not.
As far as I'm concerned Alvvays had the song of the year in Archie, Marry Me.