End of Semester Shuffle

1. "Backward"--Quicksand, Manic Compression (1995):
The opening track on Quicksand's second and final album is awesome.  Walter Schreifels is one of my top singer/songwriters with the number of great bands he has fronted (Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand, Rival Schools, et al).  Quicksand has played a couple of reunion shows but there is no sign of them actually recording again.  Rival Schools is pretty active, and I highly recommend their music. Like most songs on this album, "Backward" is absolutely SHUFFLE GOLD!!

2. "Desire"--Toad the Wet Sprocket, Coil (1997):
Toad the Wet Sprocket is one of those "I found them first" bands. My friends and I played songs from their album Pale on our college radio shows before they found a commercial audience with the album Fear.  This album was a couple of albums later and had one song that received some commercial play, "Come Down."  I actually like this album a lot, though I think the band went on hiatus shortly thereafter.  As another 90s behind who is still doing the work, the band put out a new album just a couple of months ago, New Constellation.  "Desire" is a solid Toad song and one of the stronger tracks on this album, fully SHUFFLE GOODNESS.

3. "Lorelei"--Office of Future Plans, S/T (2011):
J. Robbins's (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels) latest venture, Office of Future Plans is on Dischord Records and is absolutely amazing.  This band is under the radar but is my favorite work of J.'s, second only to Jawbox.  Gordon Withers plays cello, bringing a different feel to the band's post-punk, D.C. sound.  This song is my favorite off of their self-titled album and is sweet, SHUFFLE GOLD!!

4. "Racehorses"--Wild Flag, S/T (2011):
This shuffle is a full 90s revival. Wild Flag is a super group of 90s musicians, most notably Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney, and Mary Timony of Helium. The album is on Merge Records, and the band made the rounds for a couple of years.  Weiss just recently stated that the band basically has already run its course.  This album is excellent from start to finish, and this song is a solid Brownstein track. SHUFFLE GOODNESS.

5.  "For Esme"--Jawbreaker, Live 4/30/96 (1999):
There are not too many better ways to end a 90s revival shuffle than a live Jawbreaker song. I believe this song is one of the non-studio songs that was on this live recording.  While often labeled as an Emo band who existed before Emo was a label, I find the label a bit misleading.  While Blake's lyrics may lend themselves to that label, I'm not sure the music fits.  These guys considered themselves a Bay Area punk band.  They were great live, and this song captures that. SHUFFLE GOODNESS.