Quasi
American Gong
Kill Rock Stars Records
All along — when Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes weren’t busying themselves with Heatmiser and Sleater-Kinney and the Jicks, or being married and then being divorced — they were Quasi. So when they do occasionally choose to wear their Quasi pants, fans freak. On American Gong, Quasi’s eighth record, the band (now a trio) offers more of what makes people love them: out of nowhere jams, lullaby-choruses, sing-song rhymes and dissonant juxtapositions. In fact, it’s a bit of a show-off record—not hoity-toity, but a portfolio, almost, of everything they’re capable of. “Bye Bye Blackbird” starts as a contagious, loud-quiet-loud rock song, before shuffling off into an all-out jam session. “The Jig Is Up” showcases Coomes’ sugar-coated vocals. And track six “Black Dogs & Bubbles,” swings widely from toe-tapping anthem to downright heavy. But all of it—the fidgety sound, the sudden change-ups: This is why you love Quasi.
Recommended download: “Bye Bye Blackbird”
