Different Damage
Sure it's more mature, but it's way less
fun. Sure there are some sonically piercing songs, but even
those throw-ins feel a little forced after No Kill No Beep
Beep's franticness. I'm sure critics would say this is
a better album than their debut (or not), but they almost sound
content here. And what artist has ever made a good album while
content? In the realm of dance punk, this one is more dance,
less punk, although still a predecessor of many of today's hot
acts. |
No Kill No Beep Beep
I was talking to somebody about this band,
and I think he said that listening to Q & Not U made him
literally want to blow his head off. I totally get it, although
I wholeheartedly disagree. Like many other Dischord
bands, they take the label name to heart and create dischord
within their music. It's all start and stop and weird angles,
time signature changes, shrieking guitar plucking and octopus
drumming. Listen to "End the Washington Monument Blinks"
and tell me these guys aren't a good pop band. It does sound
like the guitar player is using a drill bit as a guitar pick
at points, but it just adds to the wacky hand claps and call
and response thing that has honestly spawned a generation of
wacky bands from as diverse a background as Brooklyn and Canada.
This is the original, boys. Get on board. |
Power
It's as if this band just has no desire to
be annoying anymore. And with the annoyance goes some of the
fun. Granted, this is a much more listenable album than either
of their first two, but with this one they've moved into more
Hot Hot Heat-ish territory (or
maybe HHH moved into theirs). The DC sound is all but dead,
which is a shame, but in its place comes a more stripped down
Rapture mixed with just a touch
of spazz rock (along with some bizarre flutes/recorders) and
surprisingly less handclaps than their last album. And then
they broke up and went their separate ways. |
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