How set am I on not being overly “extra! Extra! Hot off the press!” with this here blog? Well, my favourite hometown band finally announces a new record after five years, and it takes me… almost three weeks to get around to posting it! Hey, things get busy around here.

We are, of course, talking about Alvvays, who finally offered up details on the follow-up to 2017’s Antisocialites. Blue Rev will be out on October 6, and it opens with “Pharmacist”, which is the first preview track the band is sharing from it.

As for what took the band so long, they have a good explanation:

A watchful thief then broke into singer Molly Rankin’s apartment and swiped a recorder full of demos, one day before a basement flood nearly ruined all the band’s gear. They subsequently lost a rhythm section and, due to border closures, couldn’t rehearse for months with their masterful new one.

Alvvays @ Bandcamp

But looking past the obstacles and to what the finished product has to offer, in conversation with Rolling Stone, Molly Rankin promises the third record will offer some humour to go along with their trademark melodies and deadpan gloom:

“I don’t necessarily want to pivot into something brand-new and wear a shiny suit and try and make it onto the radio. I mean, I will always have some songs about people dying or walking into a lake or what have you. But I’m ready for some levity.”

Molly Rankin, Alvvays
‘Ready for Some Levity’: Alvvays Brighten Up Their Indie-Pop Dream @ Rolling Stone

Can’t wait.