Field Studies

Double 180 Gram Vinyl with Download. Indie rock had seen power duos before: Guv'ner, Royal Trux, Buckingham-Nicks, the Carpenters - but they'd never sounded like Quasi. Drumming like a controlled detonation; mutant blues coming out of an electric harpsichord or guitar by turns. Backwards through the backwoods of AM pop and Pebbles psych to create a new form: bar-room baroque. Honey-golden multitracked vocals and some of the bleakest, black-eyed, black-hearted lyrics put to paper since Lou Reed woke up in a bad mood. And all played with the kind of ramshackle ease that only comes from weeks of practice, months in the van, and serious chops. Does 'Field Studies' have an Elliott Smith turn to the harmonies? Maybe both Quasi and Smith have a Heatmiser influence, given that's the Portland band that Coomes and Smith had played in together. As one of their biggest fans, 'Clouds' was one of Smith's favourite live covers and Smith plays bass on three of Field Studies' tracks, returning the favour for the many live shows in which Weiss and Coomes were his backing group.