No Age are a modern guitar pop oddity. Formed in late 2005, the guitar-and-drum duo have made a name for themselves by eschewing the normal in-roads of most indie bands. Their first songs were released on five limited vinyl-only EPs on five different indie record labels, most of which went quickly out of print. Their sound is gritty pop buried under mountians of noise. They are accessible to their fans, often sticking around to hang out with them after shows. It wouldn't be a stretch to call them the Sonic Youth of our generation.
This approach came to maturation in their 2010 LP, Everything In Between. Tidal waves of guitar and drums crashing on the beach of the heart, the songs on this album are ultra cinematic. Attack and retreat, grasp and release, celebrating the joy and pain of life. This is especially evident on the album's first single, the moving "Glitter". Released a month before the album, the song is available on two vinyl-only editions, both with their own b-sides.
The 12" inch version, backed with "In Rebound" and "Vision II", is the primary release. The three songs move and flow together like a mini-album. "In Rebound", with it's Casio-flavored intro, is the most up-tempo song. It's a fully realized punk rock song that wouldn't be out of place on their first full-length, Nouns, though I can see why it was left off the new album. "Vision II" is another winning song, though much more ambient. It puts it's emphasis on texture, burying the vocals under sheets of echo. Tribal drums propel it through torrents of guitar. The only downside to this single is the title song. What initially attracted me to this release was the long version of "Glitter". Hoping it would be a 12" remix like so many of No Age's 80s heroes, it's really just the album version with three minutes of guitar noise tacked onto the end. It's something that would have killed a lesser song. Luckily, you can just pull the needle off the record.
The 7" version is pretty much the same beast. The album version of "Glitter" is the a-side, of course, backed with the song "Inflorescense". The b-side is a heartfelt pop tune in the vein of such EIB highlights as "Common Heat" and "Valley Hump Crash". It's likely that it was left off the album because of that similarity. It's the kind of pop gem that No Age specializes in, fuzzed out with fistfuls of white noise. It wouldn't sound out of place played on an acoustic guitar.
These two releases are special. In an era where most songs are released digitally, these are vinyl-only, though each one comes with a download code for a digital version from Sub Pop's website. Both are intensely satisfying records, worthy of your money.
Key tracks: "Glitter" "In Rebound" "Inflorescence"
Very well put together post, good review. Happy first review!
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