Last year, Toronto's Alvvays burst down the aisle with an infectious single ("Archie, Marry Me") and debut album. This weekend, the band plays a free show at the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. CP talked to lead singer Molly Rankin about a missed show, cynicism toward marriage and a life outside of music.
What happened at the border when you missed opening for The Decemberists in Pittsburgh a couple months ago?
There are certain borders that are more scrutinizing than others ... and this one was rejecting our T-shirts. It's just, like, a gray thing, depending on how big you are as a band. Sometimes you go through and they demand that you have a carnet, which is really expensive. For us, it doesn't financially make sense.
Many of your songs seem to have a traditional approach to marriage and romance – what inspires that?
There's kind of a misconception about "Archie, Marry Me"; it's really kind of making fun of traditional marriage. That's still a huge thing at home, where you find a wife and find a job and buy a house and start a family, and things are so different now economically and environmentally. I don't even think I'll ever own a house at this point.
If you weren't playing music, what would be your dream job?
Initially, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but I feel like at this point, I would want to be some kind of social worker where I help young kids going through bad patches or something — help to counsel them.
