Q and not U Power Dischord Questionably and with a half smile, I listen to my newly purchased Power. A hopeful grin to an unexpected sound clearly emphasizes my initial doubt. A doubt unfounded by two previous solid full-length releases, which saw Fugazi front man Ian Mackaye at the producing reigns. The D.C. trio, who has a knack for reveling in their trials and powering through tribulations, (see loss of bassist Matt Borlik in 2001 and drummer John Davis breaking foot in 2004) are once again tinkering with the formula that put them on the underground map. The clap-happy quirky beat-driven days are but a mere memory as the band nestles their new sound within the rainbow-colored confines of a bad layout. It's what's inside that counts though, right? So I pray for "Soft Pyramids" and receive it's catchy equivalent in "Wonderful People". Fast and driven with a funk guitar rhythm, the album quickly hints at the band's new direction/progression. Straining falsettos make the track instantly unique, and somewhat shocking for the band's old fans, as it tackles pure, unadulterated dance music. A fat analog synthesizer emerges as bass lines take a back seat, questioning a possible El Guapo influence (who dethroned Mackaye on production), or possibly masking some latent effects of Davis' broken foot. The drumming, which had been the crooked backbone of their previous works, has unfortunately been straightened. A solid, driving, percussion performance nonetheless, minus the dexterous bells and whistles of the creative drumming we've grown accustomed to. Power's charm lies within its progressive successes, such as the stripped down falsetto lullaby "Throw Back Your Head", which is one of several tracks to adopt some odd Renaissance influences. The song uses a wooden recorder to deliver a tiny medieval melody. The synth-laden "Wet Works" shines brilliantly as the toe-tapping centerpiece seamlessly blending both funk and trademark dance-punk before bleeding into the haunting feudal hymn of "District Night Prayer". Experimentation aside, Power bursts with energy, with musical flashbacks to older material appearing in "X-Polynation" and "Book of Flags", both previously released together (as better versions) on an EP last September. Fortunately, the jagged Q and Not U I had hoped to hear is still alive and kicking. Tracks such as "L.A.X." and the call and response melee finale "Tag-Tag" have all but erased any doubts I had during my initial listen. Q and Not U successfully manage to explore their new progression and vocal ranges, but that's not to say that a track or two might have been better left as just a studio experiment. "Dine" reveals itself as one of these tracks, sounding too naked and bordering on discomforting. Even if done for effect, I would still prefer not to hear the spit forming around Harris Klahr's mouth before he sings a line. But any weakness Power may have is vastly overshadowed by the band's constantly evolving sound and ability to always avoid stagnation and duplication. The success of their two previous albums may have awarded them the freedom they now enjoy, but they waste no time in solidifying this release as one of the year's best. Power is a joyful testament to the bands unwillingness to compromise and the unforgiving nature of creating on your own terms. -brian 10/25/04

	Q And Not U X-Polynation / Book of Flags Dischord
I realized the other day that Q and not U are the only current band that consistently excite me and just about everyone I know. When their single showed up in my mailbox the other day, I tore it open with glee. When I announced it's arrival to my roommate, he nearly leaped out of his chair and urged me to "put it on already!" Q and not U, as the current standard bearers of the DC sound, have a lot to live up to. Every release sees them getting better, refining their spastic beat-driven post-punk, becoming ever more urgent and unpredictable. "X-Polynation" kicks off this single with a manic, tumbling beat. Harris Klahr shrieks incoherently as the drums fall all over them selves and a synth deep in the background beeps chaotically offbeat. Suddenly the drums slow down and suddenly everything makes sense as the guitars fall into line. The tumbling rhythm reappears but this time the synth sounds like a cat jumping onto a piano. It's all over before you can even really tell what the hell happened. "Book of Flags" on the other hand takes a more restrained approach, it starts and ends with a strange jangly tribal rhythm which explodes into an amazing riff that's somehow both funk and post-punk. Chris Richards sings between the ominous group-intonations of "You better not, child." He then draws on the spirit of 80s punk lyrics, "I knock your system up / I take your system down / I'm showing symptoms, I fucked your system ... Kiss your flag goodnight." As my roommate and I sat in rapt attention, I also realized that Q and not U are the only band that completely satisfies me the very first time I hear a new release, always living up to, even exceeding, my expectations. Which makes me even more excited for their next release. -exadore 10/17/03

Q And Not U Different Damage Dischord

Wake up! This might be important, so pay attention. Q and not U could be shaping up to be the best DC export since Fugazi's landmark Repeater album. And while it hasn't happened yet, it's easy to tell that their new album, Different Damage, is heralding something great. You don't want to be left behind do you? That's what I thought. For those of you who haven't been properly introduced to this band, perhaps a little explanation is needed (and don't go looking to my review of their first album because it was just awful and didn't do the band any kind of justice at all, it being the first record review I ever wrote). Dischord Records was practically ready to close shop, most of the people and bands they had worked with had moved on. Q and not U gave the label a new mission and life. The band was an intense amalgamation of Dischord's back catalogue, combining and twisting elements from DC's musical past. Most obvious was their Fugazi-influenced texture-focused guitarwork and sometimes mathy rhythms. They had the sincerity and sometimes the passionate post-hardcore force of Rites of Spring (as well as Harris Klahr's sometimes vocal resemble to Guy Picciotto), as well as the post-modern style and noise-as-music aesthetic of the Nation of Ulysses. They were the epitome of the DC sound, everything you could want in one nice yellow package, No Kill No Beep Beep. Well all those elements are still here but they're no longer at the forefront of the band's sound or as easily identifiable as they once were. Their influences are still coming from the same bands but this time around they don't really sound like anybody but Q and not U. The departure of bassist Matt Borlik has actually advanced the band's sound rather than injuring it. The songs are no longer built upon dynamic and sometimes confusing (in a good "what the fuck just happened" way) guitar-duels. Songs now have more room to breath and it is much easier to identify the elements of the song. Far from exposing weakness it's actually all the more impressive to be able to hear formerly obscured basslines and beats. The emphasis is now placed on drummer John Davis' superb, extremely complex and continually shifting rhythms. The majority of the songs sound as though they were written from the drums up. Think Gang of Four style punk-meets-dance only a hell of a lot more fun. While certainly this thins the sound, speed and urgency that the band was known for, it introduces a very cool groove and quick flow. The lyrics still run the line between interpretive and nonsense but seem much more targeted and identifiable. Most song's lyrics reference the titles of other songs and images of death in a forest and/or technology using nature abound ("text your message through the vines…deep in the thicket I'm not dead" both from "When the Lines Go Down"). The album kicks off with "Soft Pyramids," (a song previously released on the On Play Patterns single) which really sets the tone for the album, immediately displaying the differences between it and their 2000 debut). It rides along an inventive and constantly changing drum rhythm with extremely minimal guitar presence. The song ends with a melodica, an instrument somewhere between a flute and a keyboard. If this song didn't impress you enough, next comes "So Many Animal Calls," a complete remake of another song off the Play Patterns single, which is reworked so completely here as be nearly unrelated except for the vocal melody. The song sounds like a battle between an aggressive and throbbing bass, a schizophrenic and wildly attacking guitar and a keyboard that swells up every now and then to subdue them both before it retreats again. Most of the rest of the album bounces between these two extremes, either the longer, slower beat-driven dance numbers which are mostly sung by Chris Richards or frantic and short instrument battles, mostly sung by Klahr whose fragmented, scream-riddled delivery makes the songs sound even more chaotic and wonderfully bipolar then would have been ordinarily. Missing from the album though are some of the more unexpected and fun moments from No Kill No Beep Beep, songs suddenly coming to a complete halt for a clap-along or shouts of "Olé." The only truly unexpected and surprising twist comes in the song "Everybody Ruins." It starts with a guitar/drum burst and a high-pitched, wailing "ooh" that's cut short by another noise burst and a long silence. This is repeated a few times as the noise bursts built slowly up into one of the fastest songs on the album. Just as it reaches it peak and the songs sounds ready to burst wide open, the entire song suddenly cuts in mid-lyric right back to that mysterious and wailing "ooh." It's quite unexpected and a pretty large mind-fuck the first few times you listen to the album. If you're still paying attention, I really encourage you to buy this album. Impressive percussion, cryptic lyrics and wholly original guitar textures swarm together to form an altogether accomplished album that fuses punk, dance, postmodernism and a whole slew of other now meaningless genre-terms. They haven't completely progressed beyond the shadow of their influences but they will, this much you can tell. And when they emerge from the Washington Monument's long shadow you can be sure they'll be carrying the future with them. As the famous anarchist/feminist Emma Goldman once said, "If I can't dance, it's not my revolution." It took 70 years for somebody to finally fulfill her wish, but it's happening now. -exadore 12/26/02

Q And Not U On Play Patterns Dischord

I want to thank Q And Not U for putting out probably one of the best pieces of 7 inch vinyl that I've ever heard. The band's songs on this new release seem barely affected by the departure of their bassist, the only real difference is a slight thinning of their trademark sound. The cryptic lyrics and strange juxtapositions the band is known for are still very much in evidence. However, instead of leaving the listener lost in dense textures, these new songs go for a slightly subtler approach. With more room to breath, the instrumentation and musicianship really shine through. The song structures are also a bit less random sounding than on their debut full-length, No Kill No Beep Beep. That's not to say that Q And Not U have mellowed or devolved into an ordinary band, oh not at all. The first song Ten Thousand Animal Calls is just as tense and powerful as anything off No Kill. The lyrics are just as cryptic and the time-shifts just as perfect. The b-side, Soft Pyramids, is a slower song filled with sparse guitar noise and carried by outstanding drumbeats. Oh, did I mention the photos used for the layout are gorgeous? So, thank you Q And Not U, you've made my turntable very happy. -exadore 4/13/02

Q And Not U No Kill No Beep Beep Dischord

This is very unusual. Q And Not U hail from Washington, DC so you can assume this is innovative, inventive and extremely different. The guitars sound like almost random strumming at first. A beat quickly materializes but the album retains the off-kilter feeling. The whole thing sounds almost offbeat but not quite, they know exactly what they're doing. To describe this album in one word: 'Weird'. There's plenty of handclaps and 'Woo's and other rock and roll clichés but thrown in with the odd chords and sometimes-screamy vocals, it all sounds new and fun. The lyrics make just about no sense at all. Someone tell me what the fuck 'catholic computers' are? But it's all ok, because it only adds to the atmosphere of oddity here. I've been listening to this almost nonstop for about a month now. This is Rock and Roll revitalized: high energy, passionate fun. Top-notch fucking quality. D-O-W-N and that's the way they get down. Standout tracks: 6, 7 and 10 -exadore