I love Quali. That won’t come as a surprise to any of my friends, the band has long been one of my favorite local bands. Quali has perfected a mixture of noisy, messy and intricate rock that straddles the line between shoegaze and 90s-influenced indie.
There’s a dark, foreboding sense to many of Quali’s songs that borders on meditative. See the gorgeous, lethargic sparseness of “Stalker,” on the band’s latest album “When the Dark Presses,” for a prime example. But Quali is also not afraid to dial up the distortion and play with the loud-quiet-loud dynamic The Pixies perfected, like on the bewitching track “Eraser.”
Quali, “Slow”: While many of Quali’s tracks can have a deliberate, plodding tempo, ironically, “Slow,” is one of the faster songs on the band’s latest album. Vocalist and guitarist Isaiah Nery has long known exactly how to build songs that wrap around his delicate, whispered vocals like a cocoon. “Slow,” with its bursts of distortion-fueled chaos, is no different.
Like what you hear? Check out Quali at Sod Bar on Tuesday, July 30.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists.