Then in their mid-twenties, they observed with derision friends quickly being wed. "Archie" was first developed during a period in which they lived on Prince Edward Island in a remote farmhouse.

The song and accompanying album were produced by Chad VanGaalen, and recorded at his studio, Yoko Eno, in Calgary, Alberta.

The song's lo-fi music video, filmed on a Super 8 camera, pictures Rankin at a wedding reception and sailing on the sea.

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.

[11] The song—as well as Alvvays' self-titled debut LP—was recorded in March 2013 at Yoko Eno, a studio in Calgary, Alberta owned by musician Chad VanGaalen.

[12] Rankin called the experience "colorful and engaging" in an interview, noting that VanGaalen was an interesting host and complimenting his percussive suggestions.

[10] Holy Fuck's Graham Walsh assisted with tracking at his studio, Basketball4Life, while veteran engineer John Agnello served as mixer.

[7] The song's tone was frequently compared to the acts Camera Obscura, Belle and Sebastian, and Teenage Fanclub, which were all influences on the group.

The song came at a period in which she had moved from Halifax, where she was attending school, to Prince Edward Island, and waitressed at a pub to make ends meet.

[21] She went into detail about this expectation: "We [all] watch a lot of people 'grow up' and get mortgages and have big dumb weddings [...] In society it's sort of looked at as 'The Next Level'."

[17] She paints a portrait of a lover burdened by financial pressure and unwilling to consider marriage: "You've expressed explicitly your contempt for matrimony / You've student loans to pay and will not risk the alimony.

"[25] These lyrics have been interpreted as a reference to the increasing cost of student loan debt in North America at the time of the song's release.

[7] Rankin implores her beau to disregard his worries, and a proper ceremony, and simply unionize legally: "So honey, take me by the hand and we can sign some papers / Forget the invitations, floral arrangements, and bread makers.

"[5] Pitchfork writer Stuart Berman interpreted these verses as "[sounding] less like she's fighting for the love of her life than checking items off a list.

[29] For "Archie", the band initially shot with a full crew and professional high-definition digital equipment, but they concluded it did not feel like them.

[36] On April 24, 2014, Polyvinyl began promoting "Archie, Marry Me" in the lead-up to the album's release via digital download;[2][37] later that year, they issued it as a 7" single, with "Adult Diversion" as its B-side, exclusively to mail-order subscribers.

[44] Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork, in his review, likened its sound to Neil Young, and complimenting its commitment to a more contemporary union as "a new sort of forever [...] some ideas—some desires—have ways of sticking around.

"[36] Chicago Tribune editorialist Josh Terry considered the song timeless, calling it "likable pop wrapped in a jangly, indie rock package."

He considered it similar to indie fore-bearers Teenage Fanclub or My Bloody Valentine, but thematically akin to "the lovelorn innocence of the Beatles.

"[5] Spin's Ilana Kaplan praised the song as "superlatively catchy,"[23] while Miles Bowe from Stereogum complimented its bittersweet tone and heavy guitars.

[37] Katzif of NPR abstractly compared its refrain to the feeling of summer, praising its "crisp guitars, [and] effervescent melodies," as well as its "deceptively more nuanced" lyrical content.

[27] Rolling Stone contributor Simon Vozick-Levinson extolled it as the "kind of song some acts spend careers trying to write.