[a]Quasi[/a]’s Sam Coomes is the eccentric genius sort. Walking out onstage he looks as though he hasn’t had a haircut in a year. When he plays the keyboards he uses his whole body, writhing all over it in some pagan ritual. He plays in a duo consisting of just drums and keyboards. Who’d have thought that would be a recipe for success?
But, boy, when Sam sits down at the organ and hits those keys, it’s like a chorus from heaven. [a]Quasi[/a] roll out the hits – from old ones like ‘Our Happiness Is Guaranteed’ to a whole slew of new tunes from their forthcoming album ‘Field Studies’. They even throw in a pulsing cover of the Stones‘ ‘Paint It Black’ for good measure.
[a]Quasi[/a] may have sang about California on ‘Featuring Birds’, but it’s their new songs that really evoke the summer dream and the Beach Boys sound. Add five harmony vocals and ‘A Fable With No Moral’ could be an outtake from ‘Pet Sounds’. ‘Under A Cloud’ has a surging keyboard line that makes you think ‘Good Vibrations’. And ‘The Star You Left Behind’ is pure Dennis Wilson, all mournful keyboards and plaintive vocals.
After fluffing a keyboard line mid-tune in ‘Birds’, Sam playfully shouts at himself, “Don’t give up your day job.” If [a]Quasi[/a] are going to be this brilliant, I think he can.