Different Damage

Q and Not U | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 29, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dischord
• ASIN: B00006LA5B
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,412 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars S,O,F,T,P,Y,R,A,M,I,D,S, December 6, 2003

By 

Matthew Gross (Nanuet, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Different Damage (Audio CD)

Dancepunk is the new superbuzz-word in the indie community these days, not without good reason, and this often overlooked album is what I think is the genre's defining moment. Sure it doesn't offer the dancy synths of the Rapture or the ultra-abandon of !!!. What it does offer is the perfect mixture of dancy drums, manic vocals, and punk rock attitude that I can't find anywhere else. So while this album may not be dancepunk by convention, they offer elements of both dance and punk into one oh so tasty package. This is just as technically proficent as Pretty Girls Make Graves, as unpredicable as Fugazi and as fun as Hot Hot Heat. The lyrics always offer up their fair share of surprises. The music is so catchy and original. If this really is the sound of DC than I'm so happy I go to school down here.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sing la la la la la la la la la la la la, November 16, 2002

By 

Micah Mood (Johnstown, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Different Damage (Audio CD)

q and not u raise the bar with this one. i loved their first album, no kill no beep beep, and found the second-hand griping about similarities to other DC bands pretty unfounded.

but those gripes should be erased after a listen to different damage. i guess if anything this album lays off the angular two-guitar interplay and emphasizes the bounce in the beats. the songs are all memorable, and definitely unique. personally, i haven't heard a record like this before. and i like it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different Indeed, December 12, 2003

By 

Paul H. "rmj84" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Different Damage (Audio CD)

It's debatable whether the loss of their bass player inspired Q & Not U to revamp their sound. After all, Mathieu Bourlique apparently left the band over the direction the band was taking. Strangley enough, he might be one of the few cases of a musician leaving as his band becomes more experimental and uncompromising. Indeed, Different Damage is where Q & Not U becomes Q & Not U, so to speak.
No Kill No Beep Beep was an excellent exercise in spazzy post-hardcore in the vein of At The Drive-In and Les Savy Fav, only perhaps more fractured. There was not a hook to be found, and the time changes set Q & Not U apart from a lot of other post-hardcore bands with the so-called "Dischord" sound. On Different Damage, however, Q & Not U moves beyond their debut LP by adding in more texture, melody, and experimentation to their sound. On Different Damage, there are less hooks, less crescendos, and a potent mix of funk, jazz, indie-pop, and post-hardcore that defies any easy label. You can hear bits of Gang Of Four, Fugazi, and ESG in their sound, and the onslaught of tunes works best as a cohesive whole.
It can be argued that Different Damage is perhaps too fractured and that the band didn't develop the songs as much as they could. This may be the case, but Different Damage is a strong artistic statement either way. "Soft Pyramids" is like nothing on No Kill No Beep Beep, while "So Many Animal Calls" and "Recreation Myth" are perhaps the most immediately accessible. It's "This Are Flashes," however, that is the strongest track, a blistering bit of dancey post-punk that works excellently.
A previous reviewer referred to Q & Not U as dance punk, but Q & Not U is beyond any genre. Let Different Damage speak for itself. It's the sound of a band realizing it's potential and becoming an artistic force to be reckoned with.