'No Substitute' by The Shivvers
“No Substitute” b/w “Remember Tonight”
“Please Stand By” b/w “Life Without You”
(Bachelor Archives Records)
Decades after an initial bloom, Milwaukee power pop group The Shivvers continue to be discovered by new generations of music fans. Last May the Lemon Twigs made a tour stop in Milwaukee and opened their set with a Shivvers’ tune and YouTube is littered with young bands from California to Japan reanimating the songs. Austria’s Bachelor Archives Records, a label that has a few connections to Milwaukee music, recently got in the act releasing a pair of 7-inch singles originally recorded during the band’s ‘80s heyday.
'Please Stand By' by The Shivvers
Kickstarted by Jim Richardson’s barely-contained galloping drums, “Please Stand By” plays off songwriter Jill Kossoris’ vocals and Jim Eannelli’s guitar riffs and corkscrew solo; the tune could have slyly infiltrated Top 40 radio of a bygone era. Bassist Scott Krueger duets with Kossoris on the flip “Life Without You,” a jangly, minor key ballad that Flamin’ Groovies fans need to hear.
“No Substitute” nearly leaps off the record player with Kossoris’ post-teenage urgency. Again, driving drums and slashing guitar propel the tune. Flipside “Remember Tonight,” aims for a more mature vibe with wall-of-sound production by the late Mike Hoffmann that includes Kossoris’ Mellotron. Hear it as a window to where the Shivvers may have headed next.
