Sam Coomes’ modified keyboards notwithstanding, he and Janet Weiss use conventional instruments to play a style of “rock” music. Somehow their sound is like no other band’s though. There are not many artists you can listen to and not draw a comparison to someone else, especially initially when your brain does its best to assimilate what it’s taking in with its existing catalog of sounds. Simply put and without the Intro to Psych lecture, Quasi sounds like… Quasi! And listening to one of their albums draws you into their strange insular world.
All of the usual elements are in place on When the Going Gets Dark. Songs are keyboard-driven, Coomes sings about inscrutable weirdness (electric eels?!) as well as thinly veiled Leftist rants/musings, and drummer extraordinaire Weiss pitches in with vocal harmonies. There’s even the requisite slide guitar, a particularly effective weapon in the Quasi arsenal that is used sparingly but contributes greatly to their overall style.
This is not to suggest they’re simply going through the motions. Their sixth album is an inspired effort, perhaps best embodied by Coomes’ singing on such tracks as “Alice the Goon” and “Peace and Love.” There are points when his voice cracks, teetering on the edge of an unhinged scream. It doesn’t happen though. He reigns it in and crashes headlong through the noisy pop melodies. That same sort of tension permeates the album, with unraveling freeform moments expertly guided back on track. It makes for some extremely satisfying listening.
So yes, When the Going Gets Dark is in most ways a typical Quasi album. Typically great, that is. I don’t give much weight to AMG’s liberal use of stars for their ratings, but in this case it’s telling that all of their albums have garnered at least four stars. Quasi truly has put out a consistent string of strong albums, this newest one included.