Review Summary: While Everything In Between might falter from time to time, it’s a breath of fresh air in a musical space that can feel suffocated with tried-and-trueisms.
Following the success of their debut
Weirdo Rippers and 2008’s superb
Nouns, L.A.’s No Age have proven themselves to be a noise rock band that somehow manage to avoid sounding stale. It’s partly due to the pop influences they bring in and some seriously great hooks, but nevertheless theirs is a truly unique sound. With
Everything In Between, we find the duo back in roughly the same musical territory as their debut. But this time, the pop tricks from
Nouns and last year’s
Losing Feeling EP have tagged along for the ride, and the result is yet another far-too-brief LP.
Opener “Life Prowler” starts off with a heavy thud akin to a microphone being dropped over and over again, but what follows is an expertly crafted track featuring lazy arpeggios that are almost off tempo, subtly displaying Randy Randall and Dean Spunt’s penchant for unique, somewhat idiosyncratic gestures. Not that
Everything In Between is always innovative; songs like “Skinned” and “Shred and Transcend” have the familiar dissonant vocal tracks, virtually unchanging tempo, and distorted guitar squawks of No Age’s other work. But then there are those magical moments where the band calms down just enough to let something new shine through. In the case of first single “Glitter” it’s actual, discernible lyrics, and happily, most of the songs on
Everything In Between follow suit.
When it comes to technical proficiency, there’s really nothing to complain about. Randall’s guitar work is feverish, jammy, and loud; basically, it’s perfect for the kind of songs these guys write. Spunt’s drumming is as precise and intense as ever, but unfortunately it never calms down. Yes, this is a guitar-and-drums duo, but sometimes the former needs to take the center stage. But while
Everything In Between might falter from time to time, it’s a breath of fresh air in a genre that can feel suffocated with tried-and-trueisms. It’s hard to find innovative noise rock these days; virtually everything sounds as if it’s been done before (even if it hasn’t). No Age has endured by not consciously trying to do anything drastically new, choosing instead to stick to their guns.
Everything In Between continues that trend, and sounds all the better for it.
