Quasi Field Studies CD

Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss are Quasi, one of indie-rock's favorite ex-couples. A drum and keyboard duo, they turn out pop confections that are sweet on the outside, bitter on the inside. Though Quasi's music has its roots in early-'70s pop (there are even traces of the Captain and Tennile), there's nothing cloying or insincere about it. Coomes' skill at chromatic harmony, as well as the sound of his fuzz-toned Roxichord help set the pair apart from the army of three-chord wizards, producing a sound not unlike that of Built to Spill.

Personnel: Jen Charowhas (violin); Frances Woods (viola); Brent Arnold (cello).

Recording information: Old Church, Portland, OR.

Quasi: Sam Coomes, Janet Weiss.

Additional personnel: Elliot Smith.

3rd Rel

Rolling Stone (10/14/99, p.122) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...the band's most varied effort yet: a collection of clever pop songs [with] lovely vocal melodies and lush sonic textures..."
Spin (11/99, p.190) - 8 out of 10 - "...Quasi have found the point where despair curdles into bitterness....FIELD STUDIES is a concept album about the need for spiritual whoredom...and a flipped bird to emotions that hurt too much, framed by rip-roaring melodies that inflame everything..."
Q (12/99, pp.142-4) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Sonically fuller and more colorful....simply one great, simple song after another, each vaguely convinced of the rubbishness of the world but rarely arsed to be angry about it..."
Alternative Press (11/99, pp.119-20) - 4 out of 5 - "...This all sounds like gorgeous...cunning sugar-coated pop recalling Matthew Sweet, Elastica, even Elliot Smith in one of his sunnier moods....an album that gets brighter all the time."
CMJ (1/10/00, p.7) - Ranked #28 in CMJ's "Top 30 Editorial Picks [for 1999] - "...continues to perfect their trick of marrying mournful, biting lyrics to lilting tunes....offers up some much needed verve and sparkle to the greying genre of indie rock."