Quasi

It's not totally unfair to suggest that Quasi works within the schtick of a two-piece pop band that makes a huge sound (the band's publicists are always more than happy to mention it). Multi-instrumentalist Sam Coomes regularly bashes away at both piano and guitar in a single song, both acting as scruffy foils to the singer's untrained but appealing voice. The other half of the Portland, OR-based Quasi is Janet Weiss, drummer for Sleater-Kinney, who is no stranger to bashing out a tune herself. Over the course of nearly ten years and half a dozen releases, the duo has clearly expressed a knack for coming up with a full, broad sound, often making what might most accurately be considered a racket.

On the band's last album, Hot Sh*t, the racket was placed alongside melodic, occasionally-soft songcraft, which fit nicely within the more noisy elements, making for a varied mix of tunes. The album was also permeated with Coomes' political criticisms of the War on Terror, a poignant (and often humorous, if unfocused) voice of indie rock's take on the early years of the invasion of Iraq. Nearly three years on, Coomes' political statements have become more frustrated and, ultimately, less articulate. The sound of frustration is all over this album, as songs are furiously pounded out, with little of the sweet melodic sensibility present on previous releases. - Cory O'Malley

For their seventh album, Janet Weiss and Sam Coomes decided to forgo the bells and whistles and focus on what really makes Quasi Quasi: the two of them. To do this, they stick to their straightforward piano/guitar/drums combo (which doesn't mean, however, that this is a back-to-basics lo-fi record; there's still a lap steel and various layered keyboard synthesizers and sound effects -- including bells and whistles -- in there) and When the Going Gets Dark finds the duo very focused and musically solid, resulting in the seemingly incongruous combination of a clean, well-played album with a messy, muddy sound. Weiss is great on the drums, attacking rock beats head on and adding aggressive fills, and Coomes is a more than respectable guitar and keys player; his overdriven Fender is percussive and expressive, and his acoustic piano can change from almost sloppy chord-pounding to free jazz riffing. He takes some solos with both instruments, but they're short and polite, and don't take away from the energy and dynamism between him and Weiss. Coomes also cuts back on his vocals throughout the record, singing only a few short verses (or nothing at all, in the instrumental "Presto Chang-o") and a chorus or two, and while there are still politically charged songs (the rollicking "Death Culture Blues," for example, where he voices anger over the fact "We're told just to get in line/And bow down to the almighty dollar sign"), there's not the direct attack found on Hot Shit. Weiss, for the most part, stays behind the kit, though when she does sing harmony she sounds good, and complements the edgier songs with her softer voice. Yeah, sometimes Quasi get a little too carried away with themselves and the album seems a bit directionless, but that's only when they move away from the grit and into the prettier, synth-based tunes (like the very oh-right-Dave-Fridmann-produced-this-album "Beyond the Sky" and the closer, "Invisible Star," which has an unfortunate resemblance to something that should be at a high-school graduation). But when Quasi play like how they started out over ten years ago -- two people, three instruments, and a lot of passion -- they're grittier, bluesier, and tighter than ever, and they're absolutely fantastic. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide