Hello friends, remember No Age???? They had that dreamy noise-pop album last year called Nouns. Heaps of people liked it, me included. I lost my shit a little bit when I saw them play earlier this year, their whole encapsulation of teenage energy blew Jay Reatard’s hair-metal insanity out of the water for me. Which is no mean feat, I shit thee not. So imagine the excitement that slapped me in the face when I found their new EP, Losing Feeling!!! The title track phases in, Dean Spunt doing his whole blase drawl, but sounding totally apprehensive at the same time. He’s expecting that drop as much as you are, and when he kicks into life, its a far more subtle drop-in than they gave on, say, Teen Creeps. The drums cascade in from behind and Randy Randall, not to be outdone, matches with his kodiak bear roar of riffery, launching Losing Feeling from one of their drawlier moments into the fiercest romp you’ll find on this EP. But, you know… weirdly subtly. That track segues into Genie, where Spunt pulls of a surprisingly melodic vocal part that, rather than come off as cheesy, plays out as genuinely nice. NICE. No Age, blog-friendly noisemakers that switch from instrumental dreamscapes not far removed from Loveless to hammer-and-tongs punky numbers, here pull out a nice-sounding ballad. It’s hardly Aerosmith, but relatively speaking, its the closest we’re likely to get to it from this duo. The Ep’s’s probably being released soon. Highly recc’d. <3 <3 <3
And while we’re all gathered around, here’s a track they recorded for Stereogum’s tribute to the Bjork album, Post. No Age trudge through the first two thirds of It’s Oh So Quiet, with the occasional break for a devastating drop into the chorus, and then round it out with a fast-paced finish not too far removed from Losing Feeling. The track. I’m sure the Icelandic minx would be proud. And if she’s not, I’m writing her a really fucking angry letter.
3 Comments
I like it. Didn’t think I would, but you made me come around to it.
Thx James.
i hate no age with so much passion
I did It’s Oh So Quiet for my level one NCEA music performance this term! GEE-SCRAP-LOL-KING-PRO