Q and Not U

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Q and Not U
Origin	Washington, D.C.
Country	United States
Years active	1998-2005
Genres	Post-punk revival
Labels	Dischord Records
Members	John Davis Harris Klahr Christopher Richards
Past members	Matt Borlik
Website(s)	http://www.qandnotu.org/

Q and Not U was a rock band from Washington, D.C., signed with Dischord Records. Members John Davis, Harris Klahr, Christopher Richards, and Matt Borlik formed the band in 1998. After Borlik's departure following the release of their first album, the band went on to record two more critically lauded LPs as a three-piece, exploring aspects of post-hardcore, dance-punk, and other disparate musical styles. Q and Not U disbanded in September 2005 after completing their touring commitments and a short farewell stand in Washington, D.C.

1 Music
2 Miscellaneous details
3 Final band members
4 Releases
- 4.1 Albums
- 4.2 Singles
5 External links

[edit] Music

Members John Davis, Harris Klahr, Christopher Richards, and Matt Borlik formed Q and Not U in the summer of 1998 and began playing shows in the D.C. area later that November. They released their first album, No Kill No Beep Beep, in late 2000. It was marked by strongly rhythmic compositions with dissonant guitar and bass, though each song was built around unique melodies and danceable beats that cut through and rode on top of the swells of noise. Several reviewers described the music as "catchy", and this quality of oblique yet upbeat and endearing musicality would be a trademark of the band's future work, setting them apart from their aurally less forgiving D.C. hardcore peers and bringing them more into line with the budding dance-punk scene.^{[citation needed]}

Following a short tour, bassist Borlik left the lineup in 2001. His absence prompted a more slimmed-down sound as reflected in 2002's Different Damage. Guitarists Richards and Klahr took turns playing bass, though they left the instrument out of some songs altogether, and the album is instead driven by ever-more complex and propulsive dance beats, razor sharp guitar licks ("So Many Animal Calls", "When the Lines Go Down"), and pronounced use of multiple overlapping vocals from each member of the band ("Snow Patterns", "No Damage Nocturne"). The album also expanded upon the small patches of hushed tapping cultivated on No Kill... ("We Heart Our Hive") into fully grown bodies of delicate rhythm ("Soft Pyramids"). The band toured extensively following the release, making their way through the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Japan. In 2004 they became one of the first American bands to tour South Africa.

While Different Damage pulled a lot of sound out of very little equipment, the band put together Power (2004) using a greater variety of instruments, most notably synths and melodicas, and integrated these new sounds into more delicate, multi-faceted, and ever-more variegated songs. The use of guttural and aggressive bass synth rafts on "Wonderful People" and other songs is especially prominent and adds greater depth to the songs, as well as giving heightened value to the bass-less, jangly interludes throughout the album. The tensed and urgent vocal delivery that had been part of each previous release was also pushed to new limits, now developing into falsetto ("Throw Back Your Head") and startling choral arrangements ("District Night Prayer") that had been previously unexplored.

[edit] Miscellaneous details

Q and Not U released almost no non-album material: all of the band's songs have been included on one of their three LPs, except for one track ("Busy Lights, Busy Carpet") from their debut single, Hot and Informed. However, different versions of songs appeared on the singles On Play Patterns (which included "Ten Thousand Animal Calls", a vastly different version of Different Damage's "So Many Animal Calls") and X-Polynation/Book of Flags. The band also contributed a cover of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down" to the compilation Don't Know When I'll Be Back Again.

[edit] Final band members

Harris Klahr - guitar, vocals, synths, etc.
Christopher Richards - guitar, vocals, synths, etc.
John Davis - drums, percussion, vocals, etc.

Richards continues to play under the moniker Ris Paul Ric, a solo project he started in January 2005, and released Purple Blaze in November 2005. Davis continues to play in Georgie James, who are working on their first release, due out in 2006. Klahr contributed a remix of "Wonderful People" on the 2005 remix EP available at their last shows under the name President, and is currently working on his own projects in New York City.