Quiz Show’s 2024 EP release ‘Flotsam’ often played like a musical love letter to the alternative rock boom of the 90s. Taking influences from Superchunk and the earliest, noisier works of Buffalo Tom, and occasionally applying a quietLOUDquiet approach to the arrangements – as per Pixies and Nirvana – it gave fans of the grunge era lots to enjoy in a small package. ‘XONO’ – shared in the Autumn of ’26 – finds the band, founded by Shudder To Think’s Chris Matthews, sticking to what they know. But that’s something they do very well indeed.
The title cut is big on riffs and, as before, even bigger on a love of 90s alternative sounds. Kicking off with a grubby guitar part in the vein of Superchunk, the number lays its retro cards on the table with immediate effect, but the way those heavier grooves soon give way to a glam-ish riff, and then venture into elements of power pop – working an interlude that’s full of handclaps and cowbells – shows how this band loves to take a few dramatic musical twists. The brief nod to power pop also shows off a sense of melody that lurks beneath the surface of the Quiz Show “sound”. Chris’s slightly shrill vocal sits brilliantly against the music, no matter which direction it takes, delivering a performance that occasionally resembles the legendary Black Francis. Although ‘XONO’ doesn’t offer much that feels new on a stylistic level, and could perhaps be viewed as the sum of its influences, this track brings plenty of entertainment, especially via a shouty hook at the close, which should prove especially pleasing to the fans.
The EP’s highlight comes in the form of a cover tune. In tribute to the band’s ex-drummer Kevin March (also of The Dambuilders and Guided By Voices fame), Quiz Show have taken the GBV number ‘Haircut Sphinx’ and remodelled it in their own image. The original cut (found on Guided By Voices’ overlooked 2020 disc ‘Mirrored Aztec’) works a relentless pounding rhythm and chopping guitars against Bob Pollard’s distinctive, slightly slurred vocals. Even for the casual admirer, it’s the kind of track that can be easily identified as having come from the GBV/Fading Captain universe. Realising there was potential to share something greater than a verbatim run-through, Quiz Show take the arrangement and slow it down. After sharing an intro that mirrors the GBV cut, Chris and the lads drop into a slightly doomy riff that owes far more to the grunge scene than to GBV, but it’s a shift in tone that really works. The more casual tempo gives the vocal more room to move, and during the second half of the track, a newly applied blanket of keys adds a pleasingly ominous feel. With a very loud drum sound present, a few well placed harmony vocals and a rather unexpected twin lead guitar creeping in before the fade, it can be said that Quiz Show have done so much to make this song their own.
Rounding out the release, Quiz Show tip the hat to their own past with a semi-acoustic reworking of ‘Pom Pom Boy’. It works in a stripped down arrangement; a world of ringing guitars brings a very 90s feel to the surface and the melodic elements of the chorus still shine. That said, with less bombast to hide behind, some of the vocals are a little wayward…but if you’re already a fan of the band, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
A new track, a cover tune and an acoustic workout: ‘XONO’ plays like a “stop-gap” release in almost every sense. For those who already admire the band, however, the material has the potential to play like something greater. And anything that shines a light upon Guided By Voices and their ridiculously huge catalogue of songs should certainly be commended.
September 2026