"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.[1] The single is the band's first release since 2017's Antisocialites.[2]
The song's lyrics tell the story of unexpectedly meeting someone at a pharmacy.[3]NPR wrote the lyrics are "short and memorable, but don't necessarily portray any one narrative".[3]Loud and Quiet described the "vivid details" of the lyrics as creating a "beguiling short story".[12]
Critical reception
Quinn Moreland of Pitchfork gave the song their "Best New Music" accolade.[4] 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".[4]Stereogum staff ranked the song first in their "The 5 Best Songs of the Week" list for the week of July 8, 2022.[10] They wrote, the song "sounds less like one of the their fully-formed indie-pop songs and more like an appetizer for the album".[10]BrooklynVegan described the song as a "big-sounding first taste of the album".[13]
Paste wrote on the track, the band "[makes] clear their intention to rough things up a bit".[14]Clash described the track as "an expansive opener, with snarling guitars that meld into empyreal enchantment".[15]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".[9] BeatsPerMinute called the track a contender for song of the year.[7] They wrote, the track's "distortion and dreaminess is amped up from Antisocialites".[7]