Melbourne indie-pop quartet Quivers have shared another taste of forthcoming album ‘Golden Doubt’ before it arrives next month, releasing new single ‘Chinese Medicine’.
Over jangly guitars and understated keys, the band’s Sam Nicholson meditates on loneliness and escapism. In a statement, Nicholson explained it was influenced by a trip overseas to distract himself following the death of his brother in a free-diving accident – a theme explored on the band’s 2018’s debut ‘We’ll Go Riding on the Hearses’.
“It is really about the feeling you get when you are running away from things and find other people doing the same,” says Nicholson. “You go chasing something overseas… You’ll never find what you look for but you will find something.”
The track culminates with a chanted harmonic refrain, featuring vocal contributions from Angie McMahon, Merpire and Big Scary‘s Jo Syme. Check out the Jordan Thompson-animated video below:
‘Chinese Medicine’ follows previous ‘Golden Doubt’ singles ‘You’re Not Always On My Mind’, ‘When It Breaks’, ‘Gutters of Love’ and ‘Hold You Back’.
The former two were released in 2019, while the latter two were released earlier this year. The album is set for release on June 11.
Upon announcing ‘Golden Doubt’, Nicholson said the “golden” part of the new album’s title reflects its influences – the likes of Teenage Fanclub, The Cure and Another Sunny Day.
“Doubt”, meanwhile, was chosen “because hitting your thirties after losing people knocks you off balance for a while, but no longer caring what the world thinks is always a breakthrough feeling.”
Late last year, Quivers covered R.E.M.‘s 1991 album ‘Out of Time’ in full, re-imagining the likes of ‘Losing My Religion’, ‘Shiny Happy People’ and ‘Radio Song’. The project was commissioned by Seattle label Turntable Kitchen and released in December 2020.