Release
"Archie, Marry Me" was initially self-released as an early demo. The song was uploaded to Soundcloud and shared via the band's official website/Tumblr on April 6, 2013. Likewise, early copies of the album were made on cassette for festival bookers and fans at concerts to pass around. The song wasn't an immediate hit, and it took months for it to attract attention. "Archie" made its way onto various indie mp3 blogs, as did their second single "Adult Diversion" (2013), which led to their signing to independent record label Royal Mountain Records in late 2013. In the United States and Europe, "Archie" was licensed to Polyvinyl and Transgressive Records, respectively. On April 24, 2014, Polyvinyl began promoting "Archie, Marry Me" in the lead-up to the album's release via digital download; later that year, they issued it as a 7" single, with "Adult Diverson" as its B-side, exclusively to mail-order subscribers. Both the aforementioned companies distributed promo CDs with those tracks in their countries, aiming for airplay on college radio stations. Altogether, the song did not chart commercially. Troy Reimink, writing for the Detroit Free Press, suggested that "in another era, inescapable on the radio."
The song became popular online in mid-2014, finding an audience organically. It "lifted the Toronto quartet out of obscurity," and was considered the band's breakthrough hit. Spin's Ilana Kaplan wrote that it "garnered the attention of both indie-rock and pop fans alike." Broadcaster Talia Schlanger said the song "turned the unknown band from Toronto into instant indie darlings." Its success was considered unusual in that it lacked hallmarks of young indie bands' success stories, such as a licensing it for placement on television. Its publicity was also credited to Stars singer Torquil Campbell, who, on the CBC Radio One show Q, proclaimed it as his song of the summer. AllMusic biographer Scott Kerr credits the album's "sensational" popularity to "Archie, Marry Me". It went viral on Spotify, and was a favorite of BBC Radio 6 Music, an alternative digital station.