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In the tradition of indie rock duos - particularly those comprising
a drummer and singer/multi instrumentalist, Quasi must have been one of
the first. Formed in 1993 by Janet Weiss, before she went on to become
the drumming third of Sleater Kinney, and former Elliott
Smith cohort Sam Coomes, Quasi has survived solo projects by
Coomes, the breakup of their relationship and the continuing success of
Sleater Kinney. It would seem then, that Quasi is a labour of love for
both members.
Being part of the Portland scene which not only spawned Sleater
Kinney and Elliott Smith but is also home to Stephen Malkmus,
you might expect Quasi's music to be of the slacker side of rock; lo-fi
perhaps. And while there is a certain looseness in their sound,
partially driven by Weiss's bombastic drumming, When the Going Gets
Dark is a surprisingly eclectic album with a richly textured sound.
Apparently, this is the first album in a while (and there's been seven
so far) which hasn't been home recorded, and it sounds like they've
made the most of it.
So despite the connection with the aforementioned Portland 'scene',
Quasi probably have more in common musically with oddball New York
indie sibling duo Fiery Furnaces. From the crashing opening bars
of Alice the Goon, it's evident that there is going to be some
experimental stuff going on - not by the album's instrumentation, which
is pretty much drums/guitar/piano/voice - but with tempo
changes, dissonance and experimental production techniques, all of
which seek to skew what might otherwise be fairly straightforward
scratchy guitar pop.
While the title song and Peace and Love are two such tracks, the
album is better characterised by songs such as The Rhino - a drum
workout accompanied by what sounds like Coomes headbutting the keys on
his piano. Forays into the experimental continue with the instrumental
which appends Beyond the Sky and Presto Change-O; the former a
sonic workout twinning droning organ with various backwards-recorded
noises; the latter a repeated motif which becomes increasingly
distorted until dissolving into white noise.
Lyrically, the album maintains the band's political PC stance which
was so evident in the predecessing album Hot Shit. "Peace and Love aint
no pose/ it's not some song you sing in shows" Coomes espouses in
Peace and Love, while Poverty Sucks has a sly dig at capitalism
("poverty sucks but it ain't no sin").
As the album progresses, you get a sense of why Janet Weiss fits
well into a duo/trio format. Her drumming is expansive and high in the
mix, filling space wherever it finds any. She's got a crash cymbal and
by god, she knows how to use it. Sometimes it's a little indulgent,
particularly the rather tedious Death Culture Blues and the rather
pointless instrumental intro to Merry Xmas. Her harmonies, however,
are divine and help flesh out Coomes' reedy, plaintive holler.
There's much to appreciate on this latest offering from Quasi but
the band is certainly uncompromising and you need to be into loud drum
workouts, the odd bit of white noise and occasional dissonance to enjoy
it fully. Take note of the album's cover, showing a lion coming out of
the stereo. It's not a bad depiction of the album's contents - so brace
yourself.
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