Quivers
Oyster Cuts
'Oyster Cuts,' the Merge Records debut of Quivers, finds the Melbourne, Australia-based outfit awash in the kind of emotions people tend to fear losing themselves in. Finding love after grief, the outsized guitar pop of Quivers gleams like the surface of an ocean, beneath which lies a reef that is at turns beautiful and painful, its features alien and sharp enough to wound. Propelled by melodies that at times recall Galaxie 500 and The Pretenders, Quivers make music that is tender and tough, compelling the listener to dive in again and again, each song a new angle on all of your feelings. 'Oyster Cuts' is sunshine pop with blood in the water. In utilizing tape loops, which open and close 'Oyster Cuts,' circling the album like sharks, Quivers place emphasis on repetition, deploying patterned riffs and navigating circular thoughts until they swell to their breaking point. Their dreamy strain of sun-faded jangle pop is leaner and more muscular as a result, their keenly observed palette darkened with blushes of The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, and The Durutti Column.