Twenty years of indie-rock doesn’t seem to have taken the edge off the hard touring duo that makes up Quasi, as they get set to release new single, See You On Mars. It’s the lead single from their upcoming album, Mole City, and both will prelude a ten date UK tour to debut their new material this side of the Atlantic later on this year.
Both album and single will be released on the 30th September 2013 and based on the sound of the lead track (listen below) Mole City should be one to look out for. Featuring awesome drums from Janet Weiss and fuzzed up vocals and piano from Sam Coomes, it’s a badass rock n roll track that’ll remind you why rock and roll should never go away.
It’s got inevitable comparisons to Steven Malcmus and the Jicks with Weiss’ former role in the band, but also with the style of Pavement and Weezer. The rock n roll element of the track is as indie-rock as it can get with a very cool blanket of fuzz overlaying pretty much everything other than the drums until the boogie woogie piano section kicks in part way through.
Talking about the single, Coomes says, “Rock & Roll may be on its last legs on Earth, but its taking off on Mars.”, which is a good indication of what the vocals are all about. Rock and roll probably isn’t the only reminiscence behind the words, but they definitely long for life on another world where things are a bit more as you’d hope they’d be. They’ve got a smart, escapist nature that’s easy to empathise with, belied by the surface layer simplicity of the lyrics.
Quasi came out of the Portland indie-rock music scene that developed in the late eighties and early nineties. Mole City is their 11th album and with 24 tracks in total it’s set to be a significantly longer than average play. Hopefully, See You On Mars is an indication that it’ll be 24 tracks of gold.
Quasi, See You On Mars review: 4.2/5
See You On Mars stream:
Quasi, Mole City tracklist:
1. *
2. You Can Stay But You Got To Go
3. See You On Mars
4. Blasted
5. Chrome Duck
6. Chumps Of Chance
7. Fat Fanny Land
8. Nostalgia Kills
9. R.I.P
10. Headshrinker
11. Bedbug Town
12. The Goat
13. Geraldine
14. Loopy
15. Double Deuce
16. Gnot
17. Dust Of The Sun
18. Mole City
19. An Ice Cube In The Sun
20. One And Done
21. The Dying Man
22. Clap Trap
23. New Western Way
24. Beyond The Return Of The Sun Of Nowhere
Quasi 2013 UK tour dates:
5th December 2013 – The Fleece – Bristol
6th December 2013 – Brudenell Social Club – Leeds
7th December 2013 – Broadcast – Glasgow
8th December 2013 – Deaf Institute – Manchester
9th December 2013 – Hare & Hounds – Birmingham
10th December 2013 – Colchester Arts Centre – Colchester
11th December 2013 – Shepherds Bush Empire – London
12th December 2013 – Norwich Arts Centre – Norwich
13th December 2013 – Cargo – London
14th December 2013 – The Haunt – Brighton
