Daughter of Everything [LP]

Vertical Scratchers, the collaboration between the ever-busy John Schmersal and former Triclops!/Anywhere member Christian Beaulieu, is much more direct than Schmersal's other 2010s project, Crooks on Tape. Where that band focuses on the quirky sonics that used to decorate the music of his previous group Enon, Daughter of Everything is some of the most straightforward music of Schmersal's career. Vertical Scratchers are at their best when they make the most of their classicism: though songs like "Wait No Longer" evoke some of Schmersal's previous acts thanks to the crunchy guitars and winding falsetto vocals, the bite-size songs and stripped-down Anglophilia more often recall Guided by Voices, even before Robert Pollard makes a cameo on "Get Along Like U." The brashly strummy sound of "Turn Me Out" -- which could be a second or third cousin to the Kinks' "Picture Book" -- and "The End" is engaging, while the power poppy "Kingdom Come" and "Run Around," a playful look at an obsessive crush with words and melodies that chase themselves in circles, show how good Vertical Scratchers can be at their best. While Beaulieu and Schmersal often sound best on the speedy songs that give their observations some momentum, "U Dug Us All"'s infectious melody and "Rainbows"' hazy psych-pop prove they can slow things down effectively as well. All told, Daughter of Everything is a promising collection of wry guitar pop that nods to the best of the '60s and '90s. ~ Heather Phares