Quirk-ass posturing matched with infectious D.C. backbeat and overly catchy singsong/shoutfests comes together as one of the best aggressive indie pop albums to see the light of day in many years. Q & Not U offer a take on the classic D.C. sound by bending its rules a bit, making things more infectious and fun to listen to than the Dischord world is used to. Their minor melodies and to-the-throat rhythmic drive, matched with an aesthetic sense that offers no cliché, offer more replay value than many of this band's peers, such as the other 2000-era Dischord addition, Faraquet. Shows are know to turn to dance parties in quite a hurry. Buy this for the enjoyment of technical spazz pop that few can produce with such tact. -Blake Butler
No Kill No Beep Beep [2000]
Kieran Hebden, aka Four Tet, is all about collaboration, so it's not a surprise that he teamed with shadowy English dubstep crossover Burial, aka William Bevan. The results, "Moth" and "Wolf Cub," arrive in a black sleeve and pressed onto a slab of 12" vinyl with a black label. The lack of information's a nice touch in this day and age of over-information, so in that spirit, it feels right to let you jump right into the sounds: "Moth" finds Reichian Gamelan giving way to wooden percussion and subtle background pitch/vocal smears, with an echoing spaciousness that remains throughout. "Wolf Cub" digs into a deeper, stutter-stopping, chiming/ringing/thumping club zone. Both are super mellow: A thoroughly enjoyable mind-meld bearing the fingerprints of both makers, but that also manages to lead them someplace new. -Stereogum
Despite their connections to the New York rock scene -- the band is based in Brooklyn's Williamsburg district and keyboardist/sound manipulator David Andrew Sitek has produced releases by the Liars and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs -- TV on the Radio's debut EP, Young Liars, is difficult to place, musically or geographically speaking. The angular, arty feel that informs the bands that Sitek has worked with is evident in TV on the Radio's music too, but in a cool, implosive way; combined with the keyboards and electronics that make up the backbone of their songs and Tunde Adebimpe's richly melancholy vocals, they don't sound like any other band out there. Elements of electronica, post-rock, film music, even spirituals and traditional African vocal music combine and recombine throughout Young Liars' five songs so organically that it's clear that TV on the Radio isn't striving to be "eclectic" or "atmospheric": the band is simply using their naturally diverse elements and influences to create something wholly distinctive. More promising than most full-length debuts, Young Liars needs to be heard by anyone who values smart, challenging music. - Heather Phares
The story behind Sharpen Your Teeth is odd yet plausible: a mentally unstable character named Edgar Graham (calling himself Ugly Casanova) met up with Modest Mouse, followed them around on tour, recorded some songs, gave the recordings to labels, and then mysteriously disappeared. Songs on tapes discovered by Sub Pop were later recorded by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse in hopes that Grahamwould resurface. The first solo record from the singer/guitarist, Sharpen Your Teeth, cuts into raw indie rock with spells of country and folk, while allowing Brock to explore a varying scope of sounds. He gets help from Brian Deck (whose production credits include Tortoise and the Sea and Cake), Tim Rutili of Red, Red Meat and Pall Jenkins of the Black Heart Procession. Ranging from heartfelt acoustic numbers ("Cat Faces") to outright bizarreness with grating vocals ("Diamonds on the Face of Evil"), there's no doubt that the mood sometimes coincides with the enigmatic Graham.- Kenyon Hopkin
