Concert Review: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Schubas, June 24, 2013

It had been a long time for me and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. I first fell in love with the band when they played my college in spring 2006. Their debut album had just been re-released by Polyvinyl and they'd had a song featured on The OC, back when that was still a thing (I'll admit it, I wouldn't mind more Rachel Bilson). That wave of buzz steered me towards Broom, a record whose warmth and intimacy have given it a longevity that other mid-00's flavor-of-the-month bands have lacked (OK, that first Clap Your Hands Say Yeah record holds up alright but when was the last time you played any Tapes N' Tapes?).

Although I've dutifully checked out songs from their following albums, I never quite gave them the honest chance they deserved. You know how it goes, you get busy, your eyes start wandering, life happens. Then I was given an opportunity to interview them a few weeks ago, which gave the excuse to ramble through their catalog with new purpose. I ended up falling in love all over again and when they offered me a spot on the guest list for a show and Schubas, I jumped at the chance.

"Our Happiness Is Guarenteed" - Quasi

Hello, old friend. It's been a while, hasn't it? 

Today's song comes from a band that I'm ashamed to realize that I've yet to write about - Quasi. Comprised of Janet Weiss (who you probably know from Sleater-Kinney and/or Wild Flag) and her husband Sam Coomes, the group was originally conceived as a drums and keyboards (and etc.) duo in the mid-'90s, with an occasional bassist added in since then. Although I first discovered them at the Hideout/Touch & Go Block Party in 2006 touring off of When The Going Gets Dark, their favorite album of mine (and of many others) is probably 1997's Featuring "Birds". Quasi has never been a "feel-good" band, always keen to expose the darker side of life, politics, the universe and everything and their best song exposes just how skilled they are at turning pessimism into insightful, energizing music.