US band QUI have been around since the year 2000, with an established reputation as a noise rock band. They returned following a five year long break as recording artists in 2014, revamped from a trio to a duo, with the album “Life, Water, Living…”.
While I can’t say that I’m familiar with this band from their earlier exploits, one thing I quickly became sure of is that this production doesn’t have all that much to do with noise rock. That this is a band that have a fairly vast repertoire became evident fairly soon too, also that they have expanded beyond their earlier limitations of being a guitar, drums and vocals affair only.
The music is minimalistic however, and there are plenty of compositions where I guess drums and guitar or drums and bass are the only instruments used. But some keyboard or piano details are added here and there, to very good effect I might add, and on a couple of tracks guest vocalists make stellar contributions.
In terms of style we’re treated to an eclectic bunch of material. The odd one out is the stoner/grunge oriented fun track Ham Spray, with barked male vocal shouts, harmonic female vocals and atonal guitar transitions. A creation much more fun than what any description might indicate, a real charming affair that brought a wide grin to my face.
Minimalistic punk have it’s place too, both with a regular approach and one sporting drum patterns more expressive than any punk or hardcore band ever delivered, and there’s also a case of what I’d describe as college rock or something of a similar vein. A couple of tracks are also more or less purebred jazz as far as style goes.
My main impression as far as associations go are fairly different. Apart from the stoner and punk-tinged creations, I somehow got associations to Umphrey’s McGee for the greater majority of the material here, as they might come across of trying to approach The White Stripes in terms of sound, style and approach. There’s a certain jamband vibe at hand here, and stellar vocal harmonies is a distinct feature throughout (apart from some instrumental exceptions), but the music as such is more of a minimalistic affair rather far removed from what a band like Umphrey’s explore and due to that closer in approach and execution to what you’d expect from a band like The White Stripes. But with a more smoothed out and elegant sound.
Among plenty of highlights I’d select Proof of Bass and Whateryadoin? as highlights, as well as the aforementioned fun stoner/grunge/noise creation Ham Spray, and the tight, instrumental punk-oriented You’re a Girl is another song worth spending a few minutes to get more familiar with.
If you enjoy fairly minimalistic music explored within a fairly eclectic framework, and you get intrigued by a band described as a possible blend of Umphrey’s McGee and The White Stripes with more of an emphasis on the former than the latter, then this is a production you probably should investigate further. A certain affection for jazz might come in handy too I guess.
My rating: 82/100
