{"id":160662,"date":"2019-11-08T08:00:16","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=160662"},"modified":"2024-11-20T19:43:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T11:43:09","slug":"alvvays-antisocialites-molly-rankin-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/alvvays-antisocialites-molly-rankin-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Molly Rankin from Alvvays chats about being an introvert, friendships and hitting rock bottom"},"content":{"rendered":"

We’re always here for excellent music, including the sounds of Snail Mail<\/a>, Fazerdaze<\/a> and My Little Airport<\/a>. Having made their long-anticipated first appearance in Hong Kong last year, Toronto-based indie band Alvvays is perhaps on top of our must-see list when it comes to great music. We interviewed frontwoman Molly Rankin about being an introvert, the ups and down of Alvvays\u2019 creative career, as well as her favourite food and guilty pleasures. <\/p>\n

An interview with Molly Rankin from Alvvays<\/h3>\n

Formed in Toronto in 2011, indie band Alvvays released their self-titled debut album in 2014 and are most known for their fierce hit single Archie, Marry Me. Returning last year with their beautifully melancholic sophomore album Antisocialities – packed full of shoegaze reverbs and synth-driven pop punk bops in songs like In Undertow and Saved by a Waif – the album has been named one of the best indie albums of 2017<\/a> by critics. With Molly Rankin\u2019s distinctive voice and the band\u2019s down-to-earth (also awkwardly introverted) personality, it\u2019s no doubt that Alvvays are destined to take over the dream pop scene in no time. <\/p>\n

Hi, Molly. Thanks for chatting with us. Since the album is titled Antisocialites, it seems appropriate to ask: Are you sick of interviews?<\/h3>\n

Haha… yeah\u2026? No (laughs<\/em>), I think I\u2019ve done maybe a few Japanese interviews but really it has been a while. The album has been out for a year, so I\u2019ve had a little bit of time and space to refresh.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve known Kerri (keyboardist) since kindergarten and the boys have known each other for a long time as well, is it hard to stay productive working creatively with your super close friends?<\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t think it affects our band that much, we\u2019re all close friends. We go out together when we\u2019re not touring. I see Kerri a few times a week, we watch a lot of NBA basketball games together. I think if anything, we know how to lighten the mood and keep things slightly funny if need be. <\/p>\n

So if you and Kerri are to be described as an animal, what would they be? <\/h3>\n

Kerri really loves dogs but I think she\u2019s more of an owl. She\u2019s extremely sharp. She has a very keen sense of humour that I don\u2019t think anyone else I know has, beyond maybe the rest of her family. For me, I think I would probably be a mole or a shrew.<\/p>\n

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Brian Murphy (bass), Molly Rankin (vocals), Alec O’Hanley (guitars) and Kerri MacLellan (keyboards) from Alvvays (After the departure of past member Phil Macisaac, Sheridan Riley recently started touring with the band as their new drummer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What\u2019s downtime for you guys like back in Canada? <\/h3>\n

I\u2019m working on new music now. We returned from the US last night but I don\u2019t have a day job anymore. So I just make music and go for a walk, try to exercise, clear my mind and write songs. Very strange.<\/p>\n

Do you guys have any guilty pleasures, such as watching trashy TV shows?<\/h3>\n

I think Kerri might watch The Real Housewives, there is a Canadian version of it that she\u2019s familiar with, I haven\u2019t seen that before. We watched Jerry Maguire the other night which was a blast (laughs<\/em>). <\/p>\n

I remember most of the Alvvays members are vegetarians right? What is your favourite food?<\/h3>\n

Yeah, most of us still eat fish and Sheridan (drummer) might be the only one who occasionally eats meat. For favourite food, I\u2019d probably say Vietnamese food, like pho. I think we can all agree on that. <\/p>\n

Now back to your latest album Antisocialites. The music video of Dreams Tonite sends us back to old-time Montreal, where did that inspiration come from?<\/h3>\n

I know Alec (guitarist) has always been really into Expo 67 and he has been hunting for footage of that for a while. So we had gotten together with the director Matt Johnson, who is a master of doing a lot of replanting per people in archival footage, and we had the idea to get some of the footage from National Film Board of Canada and see if we can place our current selves into it. It\u2019s a real romantic era and I think he did a really great job.<\/p>\n