Portland noise-pop trio Quasi’s eighth album, their first since 2006’s When The Going Gets Dark, sees them walking the line between the dirty guitar sound of the Stooges and the spiky melodies of Sonic Youth.

American Gong is a battle between sprawling noisescapes and catchy pop riffs, best captured on Bye Bye Blackbird, a slice of sixties Mersey Beat which jangles along nicely before repeatedly collapsing into a snarling maelstrom of distortion and wailing guitars. It’s wonderful stuff.

Elsewhere, Little White Horse is a helter-skelter paced sonic explosion and Rockabilly Party sounds like a Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton duet rewritten by a Bandwagonesque-era Teenage Fanclub.

The band have also announced European tour dates which include a performance at All Tomorrow’s Parties, curated this year by Pavement.

14/05/10 : All Tomorrow’s Parties – Minehead (UK)
16/05/10 : Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL)
17/05/10 : Tsunami – Köln (D)
18/05/10 : AB – Brussel (B)
19/05/10 : C-Halle – Berlin (D)
20/05/10 : Hafen 2 – Offenbach (D)
21/05/10 : 59:1 – Munich (D)
22/05/10 : Rocker Fest @ Covo Club – Bologna (I)
24/05/10 : Point Ephemere – Paris (F)
25/05/10 : The Freebutt – Brighton (UK)
26/05/10 : Hoxton  Square Bar & Kitchen – London (UK)
27/05/10 : Night & Day – Manchester (UK)
28/05/10 : Captains Rest – Glasgow (UK)

American Gong is released by Kill Rock Stars in the U.S. and Domino in the UK and Europe on 22nd February.

Quasi’s MySpace is here.