ith this new EP, Washington D.C.’s Q And Not U are taking a stand and throwing locks on the revolving door of indie rock. Rather than hastily filling the void left by founding bassist Matt Borlik (who departed following the tour for 2000’s excellent debut No Kill No Beep Beep), the band has instead elected to carry on as a trio, a bold move for a group whose sound was so heavily tied to a frenetic rhythm section. The bad news for D.C. brand rawk and roll fans is that the music here is more stark and cerebral; something only Guy Picciotto himself could suitably dance to. The good news for everyone else is that Q And Not U are all the better for it.


Where No Kill No Beep Beep tumbled, On Play Patterns sways. Alternately calling to mind influences as varied as early Talking Heads, Smart Went Crazy, Gastr Del Sol, Fugazi and Sonic Youth, and contemporaries like Owls and The Microphones, this two-song single demonstrates a depth rarely achieved by many of today’s bands. What’s more, the songs come off seamlessly, without mangling the appropriations of the aforementioned groups- a truly remarkable feat.


Once again manned by D.C. stalwarts Ian MacKaye and Don Zientara, the recording achieves an almost haunting but entirely appropriate timbre, most notably on the drums of John Davis, who now has the responsibility of grounding the cascading guitars while attempting to retain the all-out rhythmic pulse that one has come to expect from the group. And he does so with brazen virtuosity. On “Soft Pyramids,” the snare and cymbals echo with distance while the bass drum rests high in the mix, creating a wildly hypnotic effect that melds wonderfully with Davis’ tribal clicks and clacks and the wafting repetition of some Middle Eastern-sounding instrument that I’m not cool enough to know the name of. Elsewhere, chiming guitars accent the quietly raving vocals of Chris Richards, sounding like a muted and infinitely more melodic David Byrne.


“Ten Thousand Animal Cells” revs up the formula considerably without any pretense of physically recreating the stomp of the band’s earlier work. Rather than lay it all out in front of you, all frenzied drums, clanging guitars and spitting vocals (a la No Kill’s formidable opener “A Line In The Sand”), the band instead leaves it up to the listener to create the groove. It’s all there, it’s just a matter of hearing the song the way that you would like to. It’s an admirable work ethic that is sure to yield a wonderful album, taking these two songs as indication of the new direction of the band.


2002 has been an exceptional year for EP’s, with efforts by My Morning Jacket/Songs:Ohia, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Cursive/Eastern Youth, and Prefuse 73 leading the pack, but I’d wager to say that come December, On Play Patterns will emerge on top with two truly indelible performances that could very easily provide the basis for an exciting re-birth of a career.