Photo by Gavin Keen
by Joe Stahl
We caught up with Alvvays’ front woman, Molly Rankin, over the phone while she was out on the road touring across the US and Europe. We spoke about the worst and best jobs she ever had, her family’s Celtic musical legacy, and what pop princess Rankin would be for Halloween, but can’t. We reviewed their show when they performed at Great Scott earlier this month. We love them, and their sunny indie pop self-titled debut has been one of the best releases this year. Here’s the band’s latest single, “Archie, Marry Me” via Soundcloud.
Molly Rankin: “Hello?”
Allston Pudding: “Hi there. Thanks for taking my call. Are you in Toronto?”
MR: “Yes, I am in Toronto “West,” if that’s what you want to call it.”
AP: “I want to make it up there eventually. I’ve been is to Montreal. That’s the closest I’ve gotten.”
MR: “Montreal’s nice.”
AP: “Montreal is nice! A lot of fur. The fashion there’s great. I like it a lot. Super excited that you made it through Boston on your tour. Love the new album. Student loans to pay. Contempt for matrimony. Escapism, and like the lead track off your self-titled debut, “Adult Diversion.” Did you intend to make the most perfect post-collegiate soundtrack?”
MR: (Chuckles) “Not really, it was just sort of in my brain. It’s something that we’re all going through at this time.”
AP: “How old are you?”
MR: “I’m 27. Alec [O’Hanley] just turned 30. Pressure’s on, you know?”
AP: “Well, happy birthday, if he’s around.”
MR: “Yeah, yeah!”
AP: “So you’re the daughter of John Morris Rankin. Your family’s pretty well known in your native Canada – more for their Celtic folk songs- how were you feeling before you let them listen to your recordings… quite a divergent sound from your family’s legacy.”
MR: “There’s a lot of people in my family. There’s 12 people from my Dad’s side of the family, so… I didn’t really send it to anyone. I didn’t know that the record would prevail the way that it did in its modest little way… I didn’t even think that they would come across it because it had gone through a series of failures trying to release it there [in Canada]. You know, trying to release it on our terms… so I didn’t even know that they would hear it. I didn’t feel weird or anything… I just assumed they would hear it a year later (after its August release).”
AP: “So while you were recording it, you didn’t even let them in on this project? You just wanted to surprise them?”
MR: “They’re all my aunts and uncles, and we keep in touch in a family way, but I have been doing my own thing for a long time. I think they took along on tour with them [to act as] a little feature in light of the loss of my father: sort of to just add a little bit of him into the show, so I was just featured, you know, played a few numbers, step danced, and did backing vocals. I was never a member of the band. They’re extremely supportive, but never that involved, I guess. They’re really busy (laughs).”
AP: “When you recorded Alvvays, who were you listening to? Who are some of your biggest muses?”
MR: “I was listening to a lot of radio stuff in the nineties, and then Napster…I lived in the middle of nowhere so there were no record stores unless I wanted to drive two hours away. I didn’t have a lot of young influence, but when I went to university, I discovered typical seminal bands The Replacements and The Smiths; later The Magnetic Fields…Camera Obscura and a few others. It took me a long time to find music other than Celtic music growing up.”
AP: “Seems like the boom of the Internet helped you find your sound…[the Internet] opened up this whole new avenue to find a genre that you could really hold on to, and make your own [music] out of it. You grew up on an island, Prince Edward, right?”
MR: “I grew up on Cape Button Island, which is an island off of Nova Scotia. Kind of close to you, I guess. (laughs). Well not that close. The boys in the band are from Prince Edward Island.”
AP: “Did you feel that music was an inevitable path for you?”
MR: “No, I didn’t want to do music. I wanted to do something in education, or do something with animals, or go to art school… but you know, you have all these things you want to do before you go into high school, then that all changes over the years. I went to university for a year and a half for theater, but then it wasn’t really my thing. I was a little too quiet for it… the strong personalities were too intimidating. But I went on tour, got some weird jobs, and started playing open mics around town. Then I met Alec. He was playing in one of my favorite bands. I sent him a few of my demos. Over the years, we kept in touch and made a solo project that I did before Alvvays.
AP: “Going back to that time when you first met him… what was the worst job you’ve ever had?”
MR: “I was a dishwasher in high school. I was a busser up until six months ago, then I got promoted to server at this Italian restaurant. Bussing is really hard because I’m really tiny…it’s [a position] more suited for someone who’s a little more burly. Cleaning bathrooms/toilets, tampon dispensers and all that crap. I also worked at a smoothie hut. It was sort of a sweet job: at the edge of town, really sketchy…nobody would ever come in unless they needed to use the washroom. I would have to lock the door. But I could play whatever music I wanted, and read a book per day because I was there about ten hours a day. Looking back, it sounds like kind of an awesome job.”
AP: “Yeah! You probably read a lot of good books. I was reading past interviews you did, one I remember is with Interview.com, and you said that you don’t have a filter: the reason you choose to not be very active on social media. But people like unfiltered!”
MR: “I know! But I feel like we’re in the age of offending people via social media. I’m probably the rudest of everyone in the band, or I just say things without realizing. I’m allowed to contribute once in a while when I think of something harmless or funny, but Alec is better at it than I am.”
AP: “Have you ever gotten pressure from your management or PR team to be more active on social media for promotional purposes?”
MR: “Oh, all the time! I mean, I probably shouldn’t even say this, but when you have a label and it’s in their best interest…people are so captivated by Twitter, Instagram, and everything. I really like not having any of that, especially myself. But I get it. You reach more people… but most of it is a waste of time.”
AP: “I agree, it is a lot of clutter. I am totally with you on that. So your latest video for “Next of Kin.” It’s so dreamy with its floating collages, and pastel colors… do you ever think about going to art school like you wanted to before everything changed entering high school?”
MR: “I always wanted to go to art college, but Kerri [MacLellan] went for five years. She’s got a degree in textiles, painting, photography… she’s probably the most artistic out of all of us (laughs).”
AP: “Last question I have for you. If you had to pick one pop princess to be for Halloween, who would it be and why?”
MR: “Oh! Good question. I’m trying to think of an iconic outfit. Uhhhh… probably Selena!”
AP: “Ha ha!”
MR: “I love that movie!”
AP: “Me too, like would you be the Selena in that scene when Jennifer Lopez is wearing that cowgirl dress with the big shoulder pads? You know what I’m talking about?”
MR: (Laughs) “Though my body type wouldn’t be suitable for that. It would probably have to be like Annie Lennox or someone more androgynous like that. Less reliant on bust and body shape.”
AP: “Well, I really do hope that you go out as Selena if you dress up for Halloween.”