Review: Qui – Snuh

In the vein of Bertolt Brecht and Robert Wilson, we have Snuh by the inimitable Qui. Finding their wheelhouse among themes of burlesque, vaudeville, and driving without headlights, Qui is on the road to great storytelling. The tracks become their own individual one act plays while also being so cooperative that they could become an opera altogether. The noise is fantastic. Qui is seamless in their transitions between melodies and maladies. Snuh is the car crash we didn’t know we needed.
Managing to mix melancholia with aggressive noise is not fucking easy. Qui pulls it off like professionals. The Stink of Her Eyes (b) is an example of this. It’s a brief track, but the simple piano melody emphasizes a certain sorrow while a chainsaw fuzz accompaniment suggests sinister intentions. Like being so sad you just want to punch everyone in the face. Or so I’d assume…
The LA duo Qui have the ability to make beautifully music that appears simple at first glance. However, after a few listens, you can see how intricate these songs actually are. Considering how brief most of the tracks are, somewhere under the 2 minute mark, it takes a lot of precision to get your point across quickly. Snuh manages this wonderfully and this may be what I listen to when I draw now.