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IQU
SUN Q
(Sonic Boom)
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The Seattle electronic duo IQU (pronounced ee-koo) make the old sound new again. On this, the second full-length from Japanese-American multi-instrumentalists Kento Oiwa and Michiko Swiggs, the duo jettison the improvisational vibe (and prominent stand-up bass) of their rough-hewn 1998 K Records debut, Chotto Matte a Moment!, in favor of tighter song structures, administering juicy timbres and melodic hooks in doses generous enough to captivate even chronic ADD sufferers. The squealing synths, fuzzed-out guitar effects, and more-bounce-to-the-ounce bass riffs of "The Ninth Line" easily offset the ditty’s half-baked, drug-referencing lyric and sampled ladies’-room chatter. The flirtatious electro-disco single "Dirty Boy" makes the catchiest use of a guitar talkbox since Frampton Comes Alive! — think Daft Punk covering Diana Ross’s "Love Hangover" with rapid-fire scratching by guest DJ Suspence and goofy children’s-record samples sprinkled on top. And in Owia’s hands, the theremin sounds less like a holdover from ’50s sci-fi films and more like a wailing, operatic diva; he uses it to great effect on an instrumental interpretation of Minnie Ripperton’s 1974 R&B hit "Loving You." For those who cherished the globetrotting, cartoon club pop of Deee-Lite and enjoyed the abstractions of German electronica innovators Mouse on Mars, Sun Q offers the perfect marriage between the two. (IQU open for . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead next Thursday, October 21, downstairs at the Middle East, 480 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square; call 617-864-EAST.)
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