Pharmacist (song)
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Pharmacist
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Alvvays
| album = Blue Rev
| released = July 6, 2022
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = {{flatlist|
| length = 2:04
| label =
| writer = Alvvays
| producer = Shawn Everett
| prev_title = Plimsoll Punks
| prev_year = 2017
| next_title = Easy On Your Own?
| next_year = 2022
}}
"Pharmacist" is a single by Canadian indie pop band Alvvays, released on July 6, 2022 via Polyvinyl. The song is the opening track and first single from the band's 2022 album, Blue Rev.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-06 |last1=Brodsky|first1=Rachel|title=Alvvays Announce New Album 'Blue Rev': Hear "Pharmacist" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2192254/alvvays-pharmacist-blue-rev/music/ |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=Stereogum |language=en}} The single is the band's first release since 2017's Antisocialites.{{Cite web |last=Onanian |first=Nora |date=2022-07-25 |title=Pick of the Week: Alvvays 'Pharmacist' |url=https://wers.org/pick-of-the-week-alvvays-pharmacist/ |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=WERS |language=en-US}}
Composition and lyrics
"Pharmacist" is an indie pop,{{Cite news |last=Hernandez-Simeonidis |first=Sofie |date=2022-07-07 |title=Alvvays, 'Pharmacist' |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/now-playing/2022/07/07/1110242235/alvvays-pharmacist |access-date=2022-09-21}}{{Cite web |last=Moreland |first=Quinn |title=Alvvays: "Pharmacist" |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/alvvays-pharmacist/ |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} shoegaze,{{Cite web |title=Album Review: Alvvays - Blue Rev {{!}} Gigwise |url=https://www.gigwise.com/reviews/3427217/album-review--alvvays---blue-rev |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.gigwise.com}}{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=Carys |date=2022-07-06 |title=Alvvays announce new album Blue Rev, share "Pharmacist": Stream |url=https://consequence.net/2022/07/alvvays-blue-rev-pharmacist-stream/ |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Sentz |first=Tim |date=2022-10-07 |title=Album Review: Alvvays – Blue Rev {{!}} Beats Per Minute |url=https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-alvvays-blue-rev/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=beatsperminute.com |language=en-US}} bedroom pop and noise pop{{Cite web |title=Alvvays Are Unpredictable, Harsh and Better Than Ever on 'Blue Rev' {{!}} Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/alvvays_blue_rev_album_review |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=exclaim.ca |language=en-ca}} song. The song ends with a guitar solo, which NME described as "extravagant" and "ripping".{{Cite web |last=Richards |first=Will |date=2022-10-05 |title=Alvvays – 'Blue Rev' review: a subtle but satisfying expansion |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/alvvays-blue-rev-review-transgressive-3314417 |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} The track was compared to My Bloody Valentine's guitar-heavy shoegaze album, Loveless. Lead vocalist Molly Rankin's vocals are low in the mix in comparison to the instrumental.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-08 |title=The 5 Best Songs Of The Week |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2192531/the-5-best-songs-of-the-week-441/lists/the-5-best-songs-of-the-week/ |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-10-04 |title=Alvvays Rough Up Their Perfect Pop Songs on Blue Rev |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/alvvays/blue-rev-album-review/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en}}
The song's lyrics tell the story of unexpectedly meeting someone at a pharmacy. NPR wrote the lyrics are "short and memorable, but don't necessarily portray any one narrative". Loud and Quiet described the "vivid details" of the lyrics as creating a "beguiling short story".{{Cite web |title=Alvvays - Blue Rev - Album Review |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/reviews/alvvays-blue-rev/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=Loud And Quiet |language=en-US}}
Critical reception
Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork gave the song their "Best New Music" accolade. Moreland wrote, "[the song] is overblown in all the right ways, with all the meticulously layered noise growing into a thicket around [Molly] Rankin's tender nostalgia". Stereogum staff ranked the song first in their "The 5 Best Songs of the Week" list for the week of July 8, 2022. They wrote, the song "sounds less like one of {{notatypo|the}} their fully-formed indie-pop songs and more like an appetizer for the album". BrooklynVegan described the song as a "big-sounding first taste of the album".{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill |title=Alvvays announce new LP 'Blue Rev,' share "Pharmacist" |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/alvvays-announce-new-lp-blue-rev-share-pharmacist/ |access-date=2022-10-01 |website=BrooklynVegan |date=July 6, 2022 |language=en}}
Paste wrote on the track, the band "[makes] clear their intention to rough things up a bit".{{Cite web |date=2022-10-04 |last1=Salmon|first1=Ben|title=Alvvays Rough Up Their Perfect Pop Songs on Blue Rev |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/alvvays/blue-rev-album-review/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=pastemagazine.com |language=en}} Clash described the track as "an expansive opener, with snarling guitars that meld into empyreal enchantment".{{Cite web |last=ClashMusic Staff |date=2022-10-06 |title=Alvvays - Blue Rev {{!}} Reviews |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/alvvays-blue-rev/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews |language=en-GB}} NME compared the track to previous Alvvays works; they said Molly Rankin's vocals have a newfound clarity and Alec O'Hanley's guitars "swirl with more vengeance and energy than before". BeatsPerMinute called the track a contender for song of the year. They wrote, the track's "distortion and dreaminess is amped up from Antisocialites".
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|eH5mqLjwg6U|title=Pharmacist [Official Audio]}}
{{alvvays}}