Artist: Quasi
Title: American Gong
Label: Domino
Genre: Indie
Bitrate: 195kbit av.
Time: 01:34:40
Size: 142.02 mb
Rip Date: 2010-03-18
Str Date: 2010-03-22
DISC 1:
01. Repulsion 4:23
02. Little White Horse 4:32
03. Everything & Nothing At All 4:34
04. Bye Bye Blackbird 6:35
05. The Jig Is Up 2:31
06. Black Dogs & Bubbles 4:53
07. Death Is Not The End 2:35
08. Rockabilly Party 3:45
09. Now What 2:27
10. Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouller 4:53
11. Mac Howling 0:43
DISC 2:
01. R&B Transmogrification 2:28
02. Our Happiness Is Guaranteed 3:14
03. Sunshine Sounds 7:07
04. Alice The Goon 4:11
05. All The Same 4:03
06. Its Hard To Turn Me On 4:33
07. The Sword Of God 4:55
08. A Case Of No Way Out 4:09
09. Sea Shanty 4:07
10. Mama Tried 3:39
11. Invisible Star 5:03
12. The Poisoned Well 2:07
13. Nothing Nowhere 3:13
Release Notes:
Although Quasi often seems forgotten about until it releases a new
album, the duo -- Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss -- has been playing
together for over 16 years. Outlasting many of Coomes's and Weiss's
higher-profile projects (Sleater-Kinney, Heatmiser), Quasi has released
a distinct if uneven series of albums since coming to notice in the
late 1990s. After abandoning the lo-fi pop style and distinctive
rocksichord sound the group perfected on the classic Featuring ôBirdsö
(1998), the two spent most of the '00s mining tepid guitar rock that
lacked the songwriting chops of their early records (The Sword of God,
in 2001) or failing to marry Coomes's bluesy aspirations with topical
political commentary (2003's career low Hot Shit!). When The Going Gets
Dark, in 2006, showed signs that the group was emerging from this rut,
but it was marred by a reliance on tentative piano-based tunes. After a
decade in the sticks, then, American Gong is a restoration of the Quasi
dynasty.
Opener ôRepulsionö spins a seedy narrative of sexual frustration over
punchy, unironic guitar maneuvers that benefit greatly from new recruit
Joanna Bolme, who also plays bass in Stephen Malkmus' Jicks, alongside
Weiss. The track sets the tone for the album, which sees Quasi
recording as a trio for the first time ever. This traditional band
dynamic loosens up the songs with a lived-in vibe that contrasts with
the sometimes harshly ironic lyrics. ôEverything and Nothing At Allö is
a lovely piano-inflected ballad, refreshingly free of Coomes's cynical
lyrics but putting his appealing voice front and center. The track
kicks off a trio of tunes, followed by the long, bluesy stomper ôBye
Bye Blackbird,ö with its effectively overdriven guitar solo, and
concluding with the pithy, acoustic ôThe Jig Is Up,ö that represent a
veritable masterclass in indie songwriting.
Quasi's reappearance with their most consistent album in a decade feels
appropriate. Just as guitar driven-indie rock in the classic sense
threatened to disappear forever into a multifarious musical landscape
of increasingly niche acts while the joyless conceptual pop of Dirty
Projectors and Grizzly Bear have taken critical center stage, groups
like Yellow Fever and Real Estate have revived an interest in guitar
pop. The album proper ends with ôLaissez Les Bon Temps Roulerö (ôLet
The Good Times Rollö), a rollicking piano ballad that is equal parts
melancholy and bombast, the perfect way for the members of Quasi to
conclude their exhilarating return to form.
Deluxe edition including a bonus CD of extra songs, enjoy!
sire@hush.ai