Exiled Records

Reviews:

It may be a strange distinction, but given the White Stripes' runaway success, it's worth pointing out that Quasi was the original clandestinely divorced rock duo. If nothing else, this means the Portland, Oregon ex-couple have a few more years experience, and on their fifth album, they devote this knowledge not to updating or reinterpreting the blues, but to rewriting the annals of rock. Or more specifically, to subverting typical-sounding rock titles like "Good Time Rock n Roll," "Seven Years Gone" and "Good Times," applying their own twisted blend of electric piano, wailing guitar and precise rhythms. Drummer Janet Weiss augments her playing, and Quasi's overall sound, with her subtle, angelic harmonies, a perfect accompaniment to Sam Coomes' devilish lead. This also gives Weiss a greater role than she plays in her other band, Sleater-Kinney, and she rises to the task. On the brilliantly rambunctious "Drunken Tears," a piano and drums duet that sounds like a lounge act after a tequila binge, Coomes' cracking voice reaches into higher registers while Weiss' high harmonies combine with a string arrangement into an ecstatic, irresistible chorus. For the slower-paced, mildly psychedelic "Sunshine Sounds," Weiss oohs and ahhs along with Coomes' falsetto, setting a placid scene until the song builds to a tremulous and noisy end (at seven minutes). Whether Quasi is shooting arrows at rock's legacy isn't entirely clear, but the intensely clever and creative duo are now so versatile that they're comparable not to the White Stripes but to much bigger-sounding bands like the Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, if they're not entirely in a musical universe of their own.