Alvvays & Disq.
Written and shot by Eva Lynch
March 3rd, 2023
Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
Disq
From the moment Disq, otherwise known as Desperately Imagining Someplace Quiet, burst onto the stage, they had the room’s attention. The group of Wisconsin rockers originally formed out of guitarist Isaac DeBroux-Slone’s lifelong friendship with bassist Raina Bock, before being joined by 2 other guitarists Logan Severson and Shannon Conor, who all take turns singing and leading songs like a musical collective. With the 4 guitarists at the forefront, their heavy riffs are supported by drummer Stu Manley who keeps the rhythms in order as all 5 of them energetically play off each
other. They played together beautifully, their friendship and connection evident to everyone watching, as they clearly were having a lot of fun.
The post punk band blends 60s pop melodies with 90s rock distortion to create a new sound which has echos of late 90s, early 2000s alt rock, with an edge similar to Weezer or the Pixies, and giving everyone a different experimental feeling. As they played in front of the fast strobing lights, they brought serious energy to the start of the night.
Alvvays
Alvvays was framed by three sets of floor-to-ceiling curtains which had visuals from their albums projected onto them throughout the night, and created an immersive and ethereal feel to the stage which felt like you were being welcomed into one of their albums, filling up with home videos and abstract animations.
The five piece band was so in sync and polished, you felt they could almost play with their eyes closed and still be flawless, as if the music was an extension of themselves. Lead singer Molly Rankin’s vocals filled the venue and had everyone singing along with her. Her soft voice had a strong edge to it which carried the songs’ melodies even smoother than their recording and entranced the audience with her range and the energetic highs she brought to balance the more delicate verses and hypnotic instrumentals.
By the end of their first song, “Pharmacist,” off of their latest album Blue Rev, it was clear to everyone why they’ve become such a household name in Canadian indie music. The band was right at ease on the MTELUS stage and even called out Just For Laughs and St Viateur bagels between songs. They owned the stage; transitioning flawlessly through genres, emotions, styles and albums. Every song carried the same emotional charisma the band is known for and the seamless interspersing of their three albums showed how the sound of the band has continued to stay true to itself while simultaneously growing over the years, and leaves us with only more excitement to see what they do next.
