Quite a few of the songs that will feature on this occasional series will be as a result of them being included on some sort of compilation album or CD. Such as this:-
mp3: Quasi – Hot Shit
This was one of 36 tracks on Worlds of Possibility, a 2xCD release in 2003 to mark the 10th Anniversary of Domino Records. It was one of those releases that I took a punt on – I genuinely can’t recall what I paid for it, but it was considerably more than the £1 it is going for among some current sellers on Discogs.
The punt was taken because lots of goof things were being said and written about Domino, and I wasn’t familiar whatsoever with the vast majority of the bands/singers. It proved to be an ill-advised punt as very few of them ended up being explored further, such was my disappointment with many of the ‘introductory’ tracks.
Hot Shit veers all the over place far too much for my liking. A slow, dramatic almost cinematic-theme opening soon gives way to acoustic instrumentation that is deliberately out-of-tune/distorted, which makes for an uneasy listen. Next up is a drum pattern that is quite standard in terms of beat and rhythm. Electric guitars? Check. Strained vocals?? Check.
Nothing above the ordinary. Some of you, however, may very well feel differently. That’s the beauty of the comments section; and indeed, if anyone really is a fan of the band, there will always be room for a guest ICA.
As it happens, this isn’t the first time Quasi have featured on the blog. Back in March 2014, SWC was just starting out with his blogging musings and was a regular guest correspondent. He did this piece on bands with the letter Q.
Here’s an abridged bio from allmusic:-
Idiosyncratic indie rock duo Quasi paired singer/guitarist/keyboardist Sam Coomes and drummer Janet Weiss, making music that rocked hard and was joyously tuneful when they were so inclined. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Coomes and Weiss had previously joined forces in the group Motorgoat, but with Quasi they let their sense of humor inform both their lyrics and the buoyancy of their music, though they were willing to poke fun at serious subjects.
In the new millennium, Weiss and Coomes found a new label home with Touch & Go and The Sword of God appeared in 2001, marking some of Quasi’s sharpest material since their inception, and plenty of satiric commentary about organized religion. Two years later, the band’s snide sense of humor was highlighted once more on the politics-heavy Hot Shit, which called out the rise of conservatism in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In 2006, the band returned to the studio and, with the help of producer Dave Fridmann, released the rollicking and straightforward When the Going Gets Dark. After adding Jicks bassist Joanna Bolme to the lineup and moving to Kill Rock Stars, the group released its seventh album, American Gong, in February of 2010. Quasi returned to being a duo in 2011 before returning with their eighth album, the sprawling Mole City, in 2013.
They unofficially went on hiatus after Mole City, with both Coomes and Weiss devoting their time to other projects, but in 2019, a month after she left Sleater-Kinney, Weiss was involved in a serious auto accident that left her with a broken collarbone and two broken legs. She was still recuperating at home when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down any options for touring, and with plenty of time on her hands, Weiss and Coomes got together to jam, with their practice sessions helping her regain her skills after time away from the drum kit. They started writing songs together, and in April 2022 they set out on a 27-date tour. Later they booked time at Robert Lang Studios in Shoreline, Washington and in five days recorded Quasi’s first album in a decade. Breaking the Balls of History was released on Sub Pop in February 2023.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 