Alvvays - "Adult Diversion"

Summer brings smiles. The same can be said of music that takes the nuances of summer and inadvertently condenses them into a rhythm or a chord progression or a harmonic line. It becomes music that shimmers with sunshine and smells of sunscreen and melted ice cream. Upon first listening to "Adult Diversion,' one could imagine that Alvvays hails from an area of the world where summer reigns supreme, where cool vibes and Ray-Ban Warefarers are given out for free in the parking lots of every beach. However, not that Canada isn't nice, I doubt my imagined hometown is accurate. Still, that makes Alvvays more of an enigma than just a surfer-pop band born and raised by the Cali sun and surf.

Alvvays is cultivating that sun-and-surf, beachy, indie pop sound reminiscent of Best Coast, with a few more complex harmonies and chord changes. Fans of Washed Out and Real Estate will jive with the mood that Alvvays is setting. Also, even if you're just interested in how they sound, the video is worth a watch to get the full summer effect that Alvvays is capturing.

The merit of listening to music is that each person's imagination reacts differently to each song or piece that one hears, while still being able to consistently maintain the same general idea from person to person. So, regardless of what you imagine when you hear Alvvays' "Adult Diversion," you're bound to feel at least the slightest bit cool and breezy, if you're not already imagining yourself hitting the waves of Santa Cruz, California by the time the first verse starts.

It is summer in the Western hemisphere, so now's as good a time as any to tune into this song as well as their title album, "Alvvays", which is on sale July 21st in the UK and July 22nd in North America. Even if you're in a place where the weather is wintery and the surfboards are hidden away in the basement, consider this tune a little light of hope to brighten up your snowy day, and since ice cream doesn't always need to be eaten on the beach to be enjoyed, go grab yourself a bowl of it while this song is playing. Be careful, though-- the essence of summer kept inside "Adult Diversion" might melt your dessert before you have a chance to enjoy it.



*Keep up to date with Alvvays concert dates and new releases at their website, http://alvvays.com/