We chatted to the band before they take to Yah Yah’s.
Melbourne guitar pop four-piece Quivers are about to fly to the USA for a second consecutive year of North American tour dates. They’re playing one last show in Melbourne before leaving, which doubles as a fundraiser for the US tour.
We spoke to songwriter Sam Nicholson about Quivers’ previous US tour, new music, and his love of jangly guitar pop.
Quivers released the singles ‘You’re Not Always On My Mind’ and ‘When It Breaks’ late last year. The double A-side was the band’s first new music since 2018’s debut LP, We’ll Go Riding On the Hearses.
“Hearses was recorded in a weekend halfway up Mount Wellington/kunanyi in Hobart in a bit of a daze,” says Nicholson. “They were mostly songs I’d written after losing my brother in a free-diving accident.
“We recorded it in a rush and didn’t want to overthink it, and it was really cathartic to sing those songs with our friends.”
Quivers relocated to Melbourne from Hobart following the release of Hearses. They’ve recently been recording with Holy Holy’s Matthew Redlich.
“We’re working on something more pop, more about us all singing, and these are mostly songs we’ve road-tested,” says Nicholson. “There maybe is still a lyrical darkness to the new material but there’s finally a bit more sun on our backs musically.”
Quivers have received plenty of love from Seattle’s KEXP radio, which has been influential in finding them a US fanbase.
“Our last SXSW trip we didn’t have visas so just did the festival and then flew to Seattle to film a session in the KEXP studio and it really was a bucket list thing – and so nice to walk in and realise it was really just a big RRR or PBS,” says Nicholson.
Quivers cite bands like R.E.M., The Church and The Triffids as core influences. For Nicholson, these artists are a bottomless supply of inspiration.
“The Triffids, I love their melodrama and how they sing about the landscape like it’s a character in their songs,” he says. “R.E.M. was a band I heard from my sister’s room growing up and those mandolins, jangled guitars and really impenetrable lyrics were more captivating than the Pantera from my brothers’ rooms.”
Quivers have actually recorded a full cover of R.E.M.’s Out of Time, which will come out in the lead-up to their second album. In the meantime, you can catch them at Yah Yah’s this Friday night with support from Gena Rose Bruce and Chitra.
“I’ve wanted to join up with Gena Rose Bruce since catching a set of hers ages ago, and Chitra keeps releasing really nice singles,” says Nicholson. “I feel so lucky there’s so many endless combinations of sweet bands to play with in this city.
“Music is great, but making it with really awesome people is really the surest and best success.”
Quivers come to Yah Yah’s on Friday March 13. Grab your tix via Eventbrite.
