Kevin Bronson on January 17th, 2014

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[Part 1 of 2]

John Schmersal played in two beloved indie bands, Brainiac in the 1990s and Enon, which he co-founded in ’99 and helmed through 2011. Now based in L.A., he’s been busy. Besides indulging his experiemental pop side as part of the trio Crooks on Tape [see Part 2], Schmersal has teamed up with drummer Christian Beaulieu as Vertical Scratchers.  The duo’s album “Daughter of Everything,” out Feb. 25 via Merge, was recorded at the Smell in September 2012, and with the record’s 15 songs clocking in at under 32 minutes, you wonder if Schmersal and Beaulieu were renting space by the hour. It features a cameo by the master of the concise pop statement, Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard, and is notable for its rapid-fire pinpricks of guitar notes. Because, the band explains, what is guitar playing if not vertical scratching? Schmersal plans to split his time between Vertical Scratchers and Crooks on Tape; the bands’ joining up on tour is even in the works.

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Photo by Joseph Armario