Grand Rapids trio Oliver Houston describe their music as “beach punk,” but it has little to do with the blissed-out sounds of late-aughts indie rock. Rather, it hits with the urgency of emo, the agility of math-rock, and the melodic chops of power-pop — or at least that’s the case with “Tom Quad,” the first single from their debut album Whatever Works. As the band explains via email, “The song is fundamentally about recollection — about how we (re)narrate everything that’s happened, and make meaning out of the past.” Sounds like Oliver Houston have been doing something similar with their record collections, and the results are quite pleasing. Hear “Tom Quad” below.

Tour dates:

11/25 Detroit, MI
11/26 Toronto, ON
11/27 Montreal, QC
11/28 Boston, MA
11/29 Amerhst, MA
11/30 Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
12/01 Brooklyn, NY
12/02 Atlantic City, NJ
12/03 Philadelphia, PA
12/04 Fallston, MD
12/05 Bethany Beach, DE
12/06 Pittsburgh, PA
12/07 Akron, OH
12/08 Columbus, OH
12/09 Bloomington, IN
12/10 South Bend, IN
12/11 Kalamazoo, MI
12/23 Grand Rapids, MI

Whatever Works is out 1/23. Pre-order it here.