Punk
"Everything in Between." No Age. Los Angeles shoe-gaze-punk duo No Age captured critical accolades with the release of 2008's superb "Nouns," an album that meshed frenetic skate-core with hazy walls of distortion and melody.
Although at times self consciously mining the best of '80s indie label SST (Husker Du, Sonic Youth), No Age was able to put its distinct contemporary stamp on the base components of surging power chords and overdriven amplifiers.
The twosome has released its second full-length, "Everything in Between," and for the most part, the album hardly sways from the formula that made "Nouns" so compelling.
While not an exact replication of the band's previous masterwork, the careening Ramones-meets-My Bloody Valentine mash-up of "Fever Dreaming" and sci-fi noise-pop of "Shred and Transcend" could have been pulled from lost "Nouns" sessions. These tracks provide enough of a rush to suffice, but lack the deeply embedded hooks of "Nouns' " best moments.
"Everything in Between" finds its own creative footing when the band dials it back a notch -- best represented in the android psychedelia of "Glitter" and the acoustic dream pop of "Valley Hump Crash." These tracks show the duo stretching out, allowing drummer/vocalist Dean Allen Spunt's self-effacing drawl to bleed through Randy Randall's assortment of guitar effects.
Whereas "Nouns' " lyrical content was mostly drowned out in the mix, here Spunt's delivery is more clearly rendered and displays a knack for songwriting that wasn't previously that apparent.
"Everything in Between" marks a slightly more concerted effort on the band's part to polish up a bit and unveil a few new tricks.
The result isn't as invigorating as the more spontaneously combustive "Nouns," but does show that No Age is capable of venturing away from paths already successfully scorched.
Comments