| Summary: Taking Nouns as forward thinking for the increasing popularity of grungy, pop-tinged punk makes No Age feel like the new age, even if they really aren’t. They're just living in it. |
Somewhere in the middle of “Eraser,” No Age suddenly remember they’re playing a song. Up to this point, it’s a constant beat with a melody guitarist Randy Randall won’t commit to. And this is still after the album’s opener, the crowded and crackling riff that is “Miner,” which sounds like it was recorded in a basement (a hollow clunk here; the production clouded vocals there). For roughly three minutes, Nouns feels like an overstatement: just more punk for the pop culture hungry for manly credibility. The transition then is even more impressive for its subtle and impressive segue into solid and catchy songwriting, and it’s these moments that bring their music, their control, and their hype into sight.
At a brisk 30 minutes, Nouns is a pop record that realizes it can say a lot with a little. As if compensating for length, Randall and drummer Dean Spunt (who also lends vocals) pack Nouns to the brim with ideas. It makes the album a slightly uneven listen, and sometimes No Age stumble in their clip pace. “Cappo” is a static-drenched, riff-centered song that centers instead on its drums, which are featured so far above the production that they mesh together the contrasting segments that differ in tempo. “Sleeper Hold” almost falls into the same trappings, but the slides and feedback that cover the song give it a rough, improvised quirk. To their credit, this uneven quality helps Nouns navigate away from becoming repetitive, and Nouns becomes interesting for it. The tense, dark “Things I Did When I Was Dead” is one of the album's finest cuts, with a piano melody that proves as melancholic a moment as any the band has produced yet. There's also the grungy post-rock qualities of “Impossible Bouquet," which is dropped for the ‘70s surfer-rock nostalgia in the hook-lined “Ripped Knees” (which, without warning, turns into synthed-out white noise).
No Age and Nouns work best when planted on one side of the spectrum or the other. Tracks like the subdued and aural soothing “Things I Did When I Was Dead” take on a thick, emotional coating in the hazy, soft crunch of its production. Others, like album favorite “Teen Creeps,” stand proud and furious in their linear structure, full of small surprises that keep it from feeling stale (the clean pick that falls gracefully into a distorted chord is perfect and- is this punk enough?- cute). Ditto for “Here Should Be My Home,” straight out of Dig Yourself-era Times New Viking. But it’s the songs that fall somewhere in the middle that creak slowly through the motions: “Errand Boy” shows Spunt pouring random rhythms into the wailing one-note guitarist Randall puts forth, and there’s no saving the song once the vocals start. And it’s hard to imagine the similar sounding “Miner” and “Brain Burner” working in consistent listens, and the former could easily be excised.
I’m sure, at a certain time (or high), these songs work more than they let on; they’re risks that seek rewards. Credit No Age for making Nouns still pretty great. With the makings of a classic in them, No Age are ready to move away from just testing the waters. And taking Nouns as forward thinking for the increasing popularity of grungy, pop-tinged punk makes No Age feel like the new age, even if they really aren’t. They're just living in it.
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sup lewis submitting reviews at 8am
Digging: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
| | | Album Rating: 4
Had to make it timely!
Digging: Animal Collective - Feels | | |
sup metacritic not picking this up yet 
Digging: Spokes - People Like People Like You
| | | Album Rating: 4
not as good as Weirdo Rippers, but I'd probably give it a 4. I think we agree for the most part, but I still like to think this band has the capability to create an album that's really, really classic or at least another that comes as close as Weirdo Rippers does.
I'm glad you reviewed this because I was thinking about it, but didn't really want to.
Digging: You and I - The Curtain Falls | | |
pitchfork
| | | Album Rating: 4
Quote:
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Originally Posted by jungler
I still like to think this band has the capability to create an album that's really, really classic or at least another that comes as close as Weirdo Rippers does.
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I can actually agree with this (with the appropriate edits and whatnot). I think I like this as much or more than Weirdo Rippers.
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i was being sarcastic EC
This Message Edited On 05.08.08
Digging: Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
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They're fairly well known. Rolling Stone did a review of them, to give you an idea.
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So I really liked what I heard on their Myspace. Is that a good indication? Cuz if so, I'll be getting this.
Digging: From First to Last - From First To Last
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I'm in between 4 and 4.5. Weirdo Rippers was a real grower but I had a better first reaction to it than Weirdo Rippers. It's more of an album and more textured and shoegazy. Teen Creeps is just amazing. I'm giving it more time.
Digging: Portishead - Third
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Myspace songs were pretty good, gonna check this out. Nice job.
Digging: Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
| | | Album Rating: 4
Bumped up the rating/edited the review. I'm liking this a whole lot lately.
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