Alvilda: "We're Very Proud To Be an All Girl Band, We All Have Different Backgrounds With Music but Its Been Part of Our Lives Since Always and I'm So Proud We Did This Band Together"

What's not to love about Alvilda? Perfectly named, the group sprung fully-loaded out of the primal ordure that all great rock n’ roll comes from and deliver instantly catchy, elegant, and timeless power pop. Comprised of guitarist-vocalist Nina Galdino, guitarist Melanie Martinez, bassist Eva Donat Montes, and drummer Sandra Mangione, the Paris-based girl group strike across all boards with a non-stop hit parade across their debut full-length C'est Déjà L'heure, echoing the untamed pop confections of The Barracudas, Dogs, Dolly Mixture, or anything from the Good Vibrations catalog. Ahead of the group's upcoming European tour dates with New York rockers Loosey, we chatted with Nina and Eva to discuss the charm and chime of their debut album, ascending to the pantheon of power pop, and the growth they've made since 2021's debut EP.

First tell me what you've been up to lately? Any good records or books you've been digging into you'd like to share?

Nina Galdino: I'm actually in this moment when you don't really know what to listen anymore, it's been a while since I discovered a new album to put on repeat, so still listening to some good oldies. Besides that, I've been working a lot so I enjoyed those last weeks of holidays. I went to see the new Nosferatu and as a huge fan of vampires, I loved it and I've read a novel from Sylvia Plath, a writer who killed herself in her 30s because she couldn't handle a wife's life and give up her career and dreams to write. I'm also reading a book about white privileges, about how it is important to recognize it exist, be aware of it and make some changes to try to foil it.

Eva Donat Montes: I'm a pathological record digger so i use to spend a lot of time searching for new music on YouTube, Discogs, etc., but my all time favorites albums are The Sweat's No More Running and maybe The Records one, I never get bored of listening to them. The rest of the time, I'm working or drinking beer.

For readers unfamiliar, tell us about the origins of Alvilda. How did you all meet and decide to start making music together?

NG: Eva is like my sister since years, we both play in Oi! bands (Squelette and Bromure) but we also love power pop, so we decided to do a band together. Sandra joined us on drums and it didn't take long for us to ask Mel to play lead guitar! We first had the idea of being a trio (Eva is a huge fan of The Jam) but I started the guitar with this band so we really needed a second guitar [laughs].

What are some memories looking back on your four-song debut 7" from 2021?

NG: Mmh, I don't really know, it seems so far from now. I remember from that time the first secret gigs during covid, the recording of it was actually during covid too. I remember many rehearsals, we worked so much and when I look in the past I'm so proud of all the progress we made.

What insight can you share about your new debut album, C'est Déjà L'heure, and how exactly did it all come together? When and where was it recorded?

NG: We simply choose to do an album after the 7", it's just all the songs we wrote since then, some of them are actually really old. We recorded at Chateau Vergogne studio in suburbs of Paris with Maxime Smadja in 2023 so we're so happy its finally out!

How would you compare this new album to the previous 45?

NG: I personally like it more, for my part I think I have made some progress and I find my songwriting better now. I wish to do better and better in the future!

EDM: I still love the EP and the first song "Négatif," which is a good example of how sometimes simples things are the bests. But I'm also proud of how much we improved as a band in this new release. As Nina said, I hope we will continue that way!

Which song from the record means the most to you (and why)?

NG: "Angoisse" I wrote it when i was struggling with bad anxiety attacks and every time I sing it, I always feel emotional.

EDM: I really like "Paris été." We wrote the lyrics a very long time ago having a lot of fun but we removed the song from our setlist later. I'm glad we decided to give this song another chance and I love how it turned out.

Diving into some of my favorite tracks here, what can you tell me about the opening cut, "Chômage"?

NG: So, I wrote that one when I was unemployed—its like when you don't work anymore, you're supposed to have all the time you want to enjoy doing things you never have time to do, but when you have some depression issues, it's actually really hard to be 24/7 with yourself and you feel the guilt of not being able to do anything. But I like the lyrics of that song because it talks about it in a funny way. I think this song is very Alvilda and it seemed perfect to start the album.

What's the story of "Angoisse"?

NG: So like I said, it's a very personal song and it mean a lot for me. Also it is the song I'm the most proud of, from the music to the lyrics. For me the best punk songs are the ones with a sad epic vibes where you can feel hope in it too, this is what punk is for me. I'm speaking of "Harmony In My Head" by the Buzzcocks, "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," by the Ramones, "Brickfield Nights" by The Boys, "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" by The Angels, to name a few.

How did "Mélanie" come about?

NG: This is another sad song. It's when you see all your friends growing up, moving together as couples, going out less, and you feel alone, this kind of things. It sounds so teenager when I explain it now [laughs]. This is an old song and I feel so far from those lyrics right now but I speak about my life in Alvilda so this will happen a lot! We just called it "Mélanie" between us while we find another name, it was funny because it's our guitar player's name and it means "black" but the better translation in this case would be "dark." We never found another name so we said fuck it, let's leave it like that [laughs].

What can you tell me about "Vortex?"

NG: Another old song! This one is about being absorbed in that other dimension where you party too hard and way too long for no reasons [laughs].

What was it like putting together the "Moustique"?

NG: I had a lot of fun writing that one. It's obviously about mosquitos but besides the name of the song, I never say it clearly in the lyrics. Nothing too deep for that one, they love me, i hate them so i wrote this [laughs]. This is the first song after the 7" where i felt progress in the music songwriting, it felt less "simple" then the ones from the 7".

The closing cut "Le Froid" reminds me of Dolly Mixture and the jangly, lighthearted side of Dogs. What went into the making of this one?

NG: This is actually one of the first songs I wrote for Alvilda. I had the lyrics and the melody since years but I never found a way to make it a proper song. Our producer helped me with it and with his help we did this. This is like a fake love song, I turned it this way because it was funny to put emotions in it when it's actually just a song about being cold, when the winter comes and its start to get night early, these kind of things i personally hate.

EDM: It's one of my favorites of the album, and as an Spanish girl living in Paris, I can totally relate to the struggle of being cold.

What are some future plans for Alvilda?

NG: Play a lot ! We have a three weeks tour in Europe with Loosey in February, a lot of gigs everywhere and some other tours in 2025 soon to be announce!

Have there been any thoughts about touring the USA in the near future?

NG: This is one of them, we're coming to USA in July, we're gonna announce it soon, we're so excited about it!

Finally, any advice or last words you'd like to share with our readers?

NG: We're very proud to be an all girl band, we all have different backgrounds with music but its been part of our lives since always and I'm so proud we did this band together. I hope more and more girl bands will show up. I also hope rock 'n' roll will finally see girl band the way they deserve to be seen which means good bands and not regarding gender anymore. Girls don't be afraid to come on stage, we all deserve it as much as men (and even more regarding the actual situation).

EDM: I totally agree with Nina! I also want to say thank you to everyone for the warm welcoming of our first album. Thanks for listening to us and thanks for the support!

C'est Déjà L'heure is out now on Static Shock Records.