The Sword of God (album)
The Sword of God is the 2001 album by the Portland indie-rock duo Quasi, released on Touch and Go Records in the United States, and Domino Recording Company in the U.K. Critical reception. "The Sword of God" received mixed, but generally positive reviews. Thom Jurek of Allmusic lauded the improved musicianship, writing: "Weiss has become a stomping drummer, a poignant, ironically comedic lyricist, and a smart-assed vocalist, and Coomes has become a smoking guitar player and a proficient if not deft keyboardist." Critics noted a marked change in sonic direction from their previous  efforts, Featuring "Birds" and Field Studies, but had mixed reactions to the changes. "Billboard (magazine)" positively described the sound as "freewheeling" and "mangier, almost bar-band", while "Pitchfork's" Mat LeMay felt that "the efforts made by the band to expand their oeuvre on "The Sword of God" just fall flat." In contrast to those reviews, Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club criticized the lack of change: ""Sword of God" is fine, but it suffers from following two better albums, which it resembles too closely to avoid comparison."