Perennially the kind of band you’ve heard more about than actually heard, I’m — as the title suggests — metaphorically in the dark going in as I place Quasi’s seventh album on my stereo. I’m assuming I can expect some well-constructed indie-rock with nods to Steve Albini’s circle of well-constructed and credible indie-rock stable and probably more than a passing acquaintance with the likes of Pavement or Sebadoah.
"Alice The Goon" opens up with the sound of Olive Oyl’s best girlfriend going fully pre-menstrual, rolling out the kind of groovy thunder that Led Zeppelin trademarked, and with enough of those fey nerdy vocals that appeal to fans of Weezer. "The Rhino" continues in a similar White Stripes-y vein, halfway between balls-out rock and party pastiche. The huge organ sound and the pounding rhythm section do manage to equate to a more powerful beast than Jack and Meg’s guitar-drum duo though.
I’m neither a blues aficionado, nor much of a fan, but Quasi contains enough of that Americana sound with enough quiet and loud to almost satisfy fans of bluster and prettiness. The title track contains a soaring chorus, soaring slide guitar, and some lovely big drums, and yet it still feels somewhat lacking. The most effective moment on the album is the instrumental film-noir-ish "Presto Change-o", which suggests that it’s Sam Coombes’ voice, which I find grating, rather than the music. The drums are especially powerful throughout (especially on the opening bars of "Merry Xmas").
I’ll be honest: While The Going Gets Dark is all a little too arch and a little too indie for me, and as much as I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d quite like Quasi, I knew it wouldn’t be that much. They sound like a very competent and talented alt.rock, indie-rock, alt.country (whatever) band, but they lack the full-balled crunch or the sweet fragility required to really get me excited. Drummer Janet Lewis talks in the PR blurb about the rollicking and unruly element of the album, but it always seems tempered by polite restraint. The dictionary definition of Quasi is “almost, but not really” which seems to me to especially fitting. Quasi-good.
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