Hippie-indie rock at its best

Everyone’s favorite formerly married duo of indie rockers, Quasi, is back with its release When the Going Gets Dark, a follow up to 2003’s Hot S**t. Proving good things do come post-breakup, the two have again produced an infectious mix of rock, blues and Beatles-esque melodies.

With Janet Weiss, of Sleater-Kinney fame, on the drums and occasionally singing and Sam Coomes, of former Elliot Smith fame, taking lead vocals and playing everything else, there is no doubt of the ability of the two to play their instruments. Furious poundings up and down a piano start the openers “Alice the Goon” and “The Rhino,” while the same bluesy swagger that frequented their previous albums in the forms of groovy guitars and drums makes an appearance again.

The album’s title track, and perhaps its best, “When the Going Gets Dark,” features Weiss in her beautiful soprano, innocently asking, “Why buy a trip across the ocean/ When you could already be the sea?” over clashing symbols and thick, fuzzy bass lines. The duo bemoans lost love and feelings for a companion on “I Don’t Know You Anymore,” a topic the two would know about.

“Beyond the Sky” gives a visual of Coomes and Weiss sitting on top of a cloud, infinitely wise and enchanting, singing down to the masses and assuring them of the Great Beyond that lies after death, all before fading out to Pink Floyd-esque ethereal landscapes of random bleeps and noises.

Hippie-like philosophies are sprinkled throughout the album, especially on “Peace and Love,” and the aptly named “Poverty Sucks,” which has Coomes crooning, “Never give up, never give in/ Poverty sucks, but it ain’t no sin.”

American capitalism is the next topic on the agenda for Coomes with “Death Culture Blues.” After a two-minute jam session Coomes proclaims, “Cuz it’s your life to live or lose/ I’m tired of singing the death culture blues/ Now we’re told just to get in line and bow down to the almighty dollar sign.”

Coomes’s bittersweet views on the economy and state of life in America are felt throughout the whole album, although the anti-Bush sentiment is somewhat lacking on When the Going Gets Dark compared to Hot S**t.

What possibly could be better than two formerly married hippies playing harmless indie rock music all while pounding pianos, grooving to guitars, drums and keyboards and offering recycled social commentary you ask? The answer is: not much.