Alvvays roared through an evening of shoegaze for lovers at a packed Plaza Live

I could point to the recent Grammy nomination they received last year to certify the gospel about Canadian band Alvvays, though the more indie-minded would probably know this was just another instance of the industry establishment playing catch-up. Had the Academy been paying attention like us, they would’ve given Alvvays their due flowers immediately upon the arrival of their 2014 self-titled debut album.

That LP was an instant magnum opus loaded with a rare amount of hits. All it took for me to fall in mad love with Alvvays was 57 seconds. That’s the exact moment when the chorus of single “Archie, Marry Me” explodes into one of the headiest fuzz-pop highs ever crafted. In the decade since, Alvvays have steadily proven that they’re some of the best popsmiths of their generation. All of this is to say that I’ve been waiting a long goddamn time to see this band.

But it’s been a long road for them, too. They’re coming off a tough five-year lull that entailed loss of personnel, material and gear. Now, Alvvays are back and touring behind a great return album (Blue Rev). Most importantly, they finally made their Orlando debut before a very full and enthused house (May 2, The Plaza Live). And with songs like these, the inevitable happened: an entire room swooned all at once.

In a rock concert setting, some of the lovely pop nuances of Molly Rankin’s voice were obscured, but at least it was by big gale-force guitars. With a storm of reverb and feedback that sometimes approached My Bloody Valentine standards, the live version of Alvvays plays like shoegaze for lovers.

It’s a look that underscores the brilliance of Alvvays’ formula. By taking the immaculate melodicism of twee-pop and injecting it with towering sonics, they prove you can have your sweet Camera Obscura cake and bask in your Teenage Fanclub fuzz at the same time. It’s noise-pop perfection that guarantees Alvvays’ place in the alt-pop canon.

Although only three albums deep, Alvvays’ catalog is so supernaturally stacked with smashes that this set list played like a greatest hits tour of a legacy band rather than a young band that’s still on the rise. And when they played the aforementioned “Archie, Marry Me,” it was a full-room singalong.