Featured image and gallery: Kaitlyn Brockley
Canadian indie pop heroes Alvvays return to Manchester hot on their trail to Glastonbury, bringing along emerging alternative outfit Girl Scout for a euphoric Sunday evening in a sun-soaked Manchester.
The night kicks off with Swedish four-piece Girl Scout. With their infectious energy and fun riffs, backed by powerhouse vocals from frontwoman Emma Jansson, it’s not hard to see why they are tipped to explode into the big leagues.
Referencing The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys as their influences, it’s not hard to see why the Manchester crowd laps them up, matching their frenetic energy. The excitement is palpable; it won’t be long before this four-piece headlines the venue themselves.
After the opener’s raucous set to an adoring crowd, Alvvays seemingly float onto the stage. They burst into ‘Easy on Your Own?’, a gem from their latest full-length album Blue Rev. The newest release is played in full, with various hits from their breakout albums sprinkled throughout the set.
Accompanied by whirring guitars, frontwoman Molly Rankin’s vocals soar around the sold-out O2 Ritz, providing a perfect antidote to the ‘Sunday scaries’. The audience watches transfixed, soothed by the shimmering keys and silky vocals.
There are moments of pure nostalgia: during charming twee classic ‘Archie, Marry Me’, the audience turn to each other, reciting the trials and tribulations of modern romance. A personal favourite is ‘Pressed’, the Smiths-esque track played in the latter half that feels almost spurned from the Factory Records scene.
The set is closed by a clamouring encore, where, implored by an enthusiastic fan, they perform the lilting first album cut ‘Atop a Cake’. As the twinkling guitars begin, the crowd roars, and the evening ends with the crowd cheering in rapturous applause.
Listening to Alvvays, you can’t help but feel like the main character – even if you’re just staring out the train window.
We are seeking submissions from talented student writers, artists, illustrators, graphic designers, photographers, filmmakers and more to showcase their work as part of the Lights Up exhibition, a unique event celebrating cycling and women’s empowerment and representation on our roads. This exhibition will follow the Lights Up night-time bike ride, an inspiring community event promoting…
As part of the annual Manchester Literature Festival, HOME hosts Carol Ann Duffy and John Sampson to read from ‘Earth Prayers’. The festival celebrates ‘imagination, ideas, stories and voices’ from across the globe, bringing together people with a passion for language. In her latest works, Duffy collates ‘encounters with poetry in the natural world’, a…
Featured image: Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Met is joining the global UN Women 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign with a powerful festival of events designed to inspire change through poetry and literature. The campaign will run from 25th November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to 10th December, Human…
Featured image: Sara Hills The QuietManDave Prize, honouring theatre critic and writer Dave Murray, is now open for entries for its 2024 edition, encouraging submissions in all forms of writing. Writers are invited to submit flash fiction and non-fiction entries until Friday 25th October, 2024. The prize aims to encourage short-form writing with no limitations on…
Leave a reply