Q Without U - Shut Up! I Invented You

There aren’t too many bands that survive a lawsuit before they’ve even put out an album. Glasgow’s Q Without U, not to be confused with the litigious and now defunct Washington DC act Q and Not U, are an exception. Unfortunately, their first long player, Shut Up! I Invented You is a slightly less exceptional affair. There is nothing inherently bad here, but for the most part, it's indie rock by numbers. The brooding opening instrumental track, Invented…, is an appropriate harbinger; indeed it’s when the focus is on their musicianship that Q Without U are most effective: see the excellent brass riff on outstanding album highlight Licking Batteries and the FOUND-like acoustic electronica of Threes. Notable exceptions aside, too much of Shut Up! I Invented You is frustratingly forgettable. The potential is here, but unless Q Without U fulfil it on a more consistent basis, they'll struggle to break away from the chasing pack. [Finbarr Bermingham]