Alvvays
Plimsoll Punks
POD/Inertia
Written as the band’s effervescent answer to Part Time Punks, the Television Personalities’ much loved, shambolic post punk anthem, Plimsoll Punks is a bouncy, jangle pop ditty that’s catchier than a flu bug doing the rounds at kindergarten and way more pleasant.
Coming across like the Canadian equivalent of Glasgow’s Camera Obscura with their chiming guitars, sugary sweet twee pop melodies and articulate lyrics, Alvvays trade in indie pop of the pristine kind and are jolly good at what they do, thank you very much.
Case in point being Plimsoll Punks, the third immaculate single to be shared from the Toronto quartet’s sophomore album Antisocialites. Vocalist Mary Rankin’s beautiful, bright vocals sits on top of a bed of crystalline, effect laden guitars combining to create an intoxicating cocktail of irresistible melodic guitar pop.
Over the course of four wholly enjoyable minutes, Rankin’s acerbic lyrics frequently hit their mark with unerring accuracy with razor sharp lines so good that Morrissey would have been proud to call his own like, “you’re the seashell in my sandal / that’s slicing up my heel”.
The end result is a utterly glorious pop rush that joyrides far too quickly to its conclusion, compelling one to go back to the start and play it all over again.
ZACK YUSOF
