The album yielded four successful singles, the first two, "Adult Diversion" and "Archie, Marry Me" brought the group to prominence in indie pop.

In 2012, they relocated to Toronto, and supported acts Peter Bjorn and John and The Joy Formidable on tours; they began road-testing certain songs, including "Archie", at these concerts.

Allmusic's Fred Thomas gave the album five stars and described it as, "a brief but bright collection of nine songs of nearly perfect, sugar-coated indie pop."

Simon Vozick-Levinson of Rolling Stone gave the album four stars, noting, "It’s a rare treat to discover a debut like Alvvays‘.

Lanre Bakare of The Guardian was less positive, saying, "They certainly have their sound down (reverb-laced guitars, big choruses, surf-tinged moments), but there's a lack of variety here.

Still, there are some genuinely great moments, including album closer Red Planet, on which the band move away from indie-rock and show they can splice synths with sadness."