Melbourne-based band Quivers make their Merge Records debut with Oyster Cuts, an album that jumps into the deep and often tumultuous waters of love and grief. It may gleam with the bright sheen of guitar pop, but beneath the surface it harbors a world of complex emotions, a world that’s beautiful and painful, familiar and alien. They manage to navigate the hazy and chaotic realms of the heart with a sense of unity and exploration. Each cathartic moment they create is an open invitation to conversation, a space where the band and their listeners can come together, share, and transcend.

Oyster Cuts is a blend of sunshine pop tinged with melancholy, capturing the cyclical nature of grief and the inevitability of moving forward. The band, consisting of Sam Nicholson (guitar), Bella Quinlan (bass), Michael Panton (guitar), and Holly Thomas (drums), strips back the lush arrangements of their previous work, Golden Doubt, to reveal a leaner, more muscular sound. Utilizing tape loops that bookend the album, Quivers emphasize repetition, creating a hypnotic atmosphere as they explore circular thoughts and patterns. Their sun-faded jangle pop, darker in hue, nods to influences like the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen. The album finds the band breaking new ground, with Quinlan taking the lead on four tracks, adding a new dimension to their group vocals. The interplay between Nicholson and Panton's guitars and the groove laid down by Quinlan and Thomas anchors the album's flow.

The lead single, "Apparition," is a standout slice of jangle-drenched AM radio gold. Nicholson's lyrics, "Don't get ahead of yourself / Don't patent your sorrow / If your heart's not open yet, just try again tomorrow," come across like a rediscovered favorite on a late-night drive, each revelation unfolding with startling clarity. The title track, "Oyster Cuts," with Quinlan on lead vocals, provides a more intimate vibe, exploring the aftermath of heartache against a backdrop of droning synths and pizzicato-like guitars. The opening tracks, "Never Be Lonely" and "Pink Smoke," turn private moments into anthemic declarations, their searching lyrics and massive hooks serving as a lighthouse in the dark.