Now the band have collaborated with Eric Barone, creator of video games such as Stardew Valley, on a new video for one of the album’s new tracks, the dreamy “Many Mirrors”.  Barone, already a fan of Alvvays, heard “Many Mirrors” and was inspired to create a video based on old-school side-scrolling video games.

Discussing the process of making the video, Eric Barone said, “It’s not every day I get an email from a cool band like Alvvays. When I learned they were fans of Stardew Valley, it felt like a real honor. The whole album is fantastic, but the song “Many Mirrors” had a pure, adventurous energy to it that really resonated with me. I took that feeling, and used it to create a visual world in my mind’s eye… and that’s what ultimately turned into this video. I had a lot of fun making it, and I’m really happy to be able to contribute, in a small way, to the band’s story!”

You can watch the video here.

Originating back in 2011 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the band gained attention with 2014’s debut Alvvays, whilst 2017’s sophomore album Antisocialites further honed their sound.  The release of the second album was followed by an extensive North American tour, on which the group often played slots supporting The National.  The road to the release of their third album, after the tour, was not an easy one – lead singer Molly Rankin’s apartment was burgled shortly after work began on new songs, and a recorder containing several demos was stolen.  This was closely followed by a basement flood, which threatened to destroy all of the band’s gear.  Despite these setbacks, however, Alvvays renewed efforts on a third album in October 2021, and Blue Rev was recorded in a Los Angeles studio with producer Shawn Everett.  The album was released almost a year later.

The group have also added UK and European tour dates to their upcoming 2023 tour.  Check out more, and buy tickets, here.  Full dates and venues for the UK and Europe are listed below:

24/05/2022 – o2 Kentish Town Forum – London, UK
27/05 – Dot to Dot Festival – Bristol, UK
28/05 – Dot to Dot Festival – Nottingham, UK
30/05 – New Century – Manchester, UK
31/05 – Galvanizers – Glasgow, UK
02/06 – Primavera Sound – Barcelona, ES
04/06 – Trabendo – Paris, FR
05/06 – Botanique – Brusselles, BE
06/06 – Astra Kulturhaus – Berlin, DE
09/06 – Primavera Sound – Madrid, ES

i chose a bunch of my favourite songs and made a tasty little covers album during lockdown and boy am i thrilled for you all to hear it. listen to Realiti and preorder the record at https://t.co/YghwWtKCIk (1/2) pic.twitter.com/gFxplRph69

— Marika Hackman (@MarikaHackman) September 15, 2020

Covers follows 2019’s Any Human Friend, which was widely received as some of Hackman’s best, most honest and self-proclaimed “unifying and sexy” work. Covers will likely allow Hackman to experiment musically and to pour herself into an album while at the same time taking a step back from the light that she shone on herself and her own experiences throughout Any Human Friend.

In addition to the announcement, Hackman shared one of the ten covers: a version of Grimes’ critically acclaimed ‘Realiti’. If this is a sign of what’s to come on Covers, then we should all be getting quite excited! You can listen to it below.

Hackman’s ‘Realiti’ is completely stripped back. The video that she shared sets her vocals against the visual of a car driving along a motorway at night, which produces the most distinctive feeling. Where Grimes’ original makes its mark with layers of electronic beats and synths, the power of Hackman’s version is all in her melodic, melancholic voice.

In addition to an album announcement and a song preview, Hackman has promised a live stream with her entire band on the release date. She will perform in an empty swimming pool. Tickets are available with an album pre-order, all of which can be found here. Alongside your ticket and album, Hackman instructs you to “bring your armbands.”

Speaking about the concept of the album, Hackman said, “when it comes to covers I like to pick songs which I have been listening to obsessively for a while. It gives me a natural understanding of the music, and lets me be more innovative with how I transform it.” An album dedicated to covers is a great place to really play with music and style, and it seems like this is exactly Hackman’s goal.

She has chosen to take on some major and distinctive artists, but I think we can expect to hear Beyonce like we’ve never heard her before in Hackman’s newest venture. Likewise, there are few other places that you might hear Grimes and Elliott Smith compliment one another – all in all, it points to a carefully thought out tracklist. It might be two months until anyone can get their hands on it, but already this project feels special.

Tracklist:

1. You Never Wash Up After Yourself (Radiohead)
2. Phantom Limb (The Shins)
3. Playground Love (Air)
4. Realiti (Grimes)
5. Jupiter 4 (Sharon van Etten)
6. Pink Light (MUNA)
7. Between The Bars (Elliott Smith)
8. Temporary Loan (Edith Frost)
9. In Undertow (Alvvays)
10. All Night (Beyonce)