Vacation – Zen Quality Seed Crystal (Salinas Records / Wasted Tapes)

Weirdo music is Ohio’s most important contribution to American culture. DEVO and Pere Ubu were blowing minds even before the Sex Pistols put on tight pants. With tech and corporate demons trying to push us all onto one platform monoculture, it’s nice to think of artists having roots. Now here’s an Ohio band that sounds like an Ohio band: GBV, Ego Summit, Vertical Slit, Great Plains etc. Apparently they’ve been at it since 2009, but a quick survey of their bandcamp reveals this is their best effort. In short, ZQSC is wildly enjoyable for fans of late 80s early 90s lo-fi pop. Messy power-pop, blown out drums, fuzz on everything, throw together some collage art and an album title of strung together random words. “Captain Unsensible” references one of my heroes and has a chord organ. OK, let’s party.

Quivers – You’re Not Always on My Mind (Turntable Kitchen)

I was happy to discover this band via them writing me a message on bandcamp, flashback to myspace where musical empires were created and destroyed via messages and top friend status. Australia had this scene affectionately dubbed Dolewave a few years back, and Quivers from Melbourne via Tasmania could be considered a late entry. The best Dolewavers like Scott & Charlene’s Wedding and Dick Diver especially pushed towards pure pop, where the songwriting stands out more than the vessel. I like aesthetics as much as other record obsessives, but I also look for songcraft and people expressing themselves. The LP from last year goes down easy with nods to The Church and early Paul Kelly. On this their latest single they reference the perfect lilt of With Or Without You (also borrowed for Quiet Heart by the Go-Betweens, who incidentally shared the same engineer as U2). It’s a big radio move for sure if this was 1987, but Quivers brings something pure to it. The REM cover on here, rescued from the commercial era of that band, is enjoyable too since I can’t listen to much past Fables of the Reconstruction…a great teaser, excited to hear their future work.