By Jackie Lam
Downtown art venue/performance space The Smell, known for serving as a haven to experimental noise pop acts in the local scene, does not usually cultivate radio-friendly fare. However, No Age, who are permanent fixtures at The Smell and have been involved in the crusading efforts of the all-age movement, are an exception to the rule. Sorta. On their third album, Everything in Between, the noise rock duo has produced a crisper, more structured sound than their former efforts. Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, the twosome who make up No Age, still make room for their thrashing rhythms and fuzzy guitars, but these rushes of distorted sound are less unpredictable and more precise. This isn’t to say that they’re more boxed in, but have tempered their almost reflexive bursts of energy with a more deliberate approach. The “noise” is understated and the melody resides closer to the surface.
While their earlier works make it seem like the band is prolonging a tenuous thread of distorted aural patterns to test the listener on how long they can last, the tracks on Everything in Between are a move toward a more nuanced and deliberate sound. Their new album is a slight departure from their nascent roots with the experimental compilation Weirdo Rippers, which was heavy on shoe-gazey distortion and ever-expanding clusters amorphous noise. It’s a rarefied form of unadulterated experimental rock coupled with simple hooks.
“Glitter,” the album’s first single, begins with a clap-able tom beat that quickly slides into a sinuous, guitar tweaks and distortion. “Valley Hump Crash,” with its miasma of drum beats and fuzzy guitars, pops and fizzes in a delightful way. Spurts of chaos aside, the song ultimately bears a spark of hopefulness.
The album seems to be less spontaneous and more planned out than their earlier works. However, everything that makes No Age a solid band: their knack of deliriously catchy hooks, and rare combination of the unexpected and the familiar, is there.What really works on Everything in Between is that the duo hasn’t wholly abandoned their dense, gauzy noise rock beginnings for melodramatic pop song pastures. These tracks have a raw, unprovoked energy, spirit, and depth. Bands like No Age remind us that there is a hotbed of great talent and a local movement (albeit carried out with a series of small gestures) in our dear City of Angels.
Everything in Between will be released on Tuesday, September 28 and No Age will be playing at the Hollywood Bowl this Thursday with Sonic Youth and Pavement.
Comments