No Age - Everything In Between

No Age unveiled themselves in 2007, with ‘Weirdo Rippers’. In sync with its emergence began a whole host of similarly-inclined acts, each originating from famed LA venue The Smell, which happens to grace the cover of the aforementioned debut.

Since that time, a slight cynicism has appeared in the air whenever the words ‘lo-fi’ and ‘The Smell’ are mentioned. No Age have had little choice but to adapt in an attempt to remain relevant. And remarkably in an album with more in common with their debut than the previous award-winning effort, ‘Nouns’, they couldn’t appear more fresh-faced. In some part, this proves the original ethos; the combination of abstraction and immediacy, stands the test of time. And by keeping their corner, No Age prove with conviction that they truly believe in the music they’re making.

Belief is what gives all three of the band’s records an edge. Despite being associated with a music genre whose artists are regularly accused of jumping on a bandwagon, the two-piece’s work has been scarce of pretence and opportunism. With that, they’ve gained a remarkable cult following amongst the live circuit and are one of many
Sub Pop acts that have a romance with the label’s origin.

‘Everything In Between’ awkwardly shuffles away from the style of previous album ‘Nouns’, in keep with the low-budget recordings that helped the band make their name. Coarse and raw but subtly textured, this album works by sounding as amateurish and vehement as their debut; its components far from streamlined; in tune with ambience and experimentalism more than ever before but with retrospect and experience to work with, this time around.

Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt always achieve a healthy blend of compact punk gems and seeping, abstract exploration within their work. During this album, instead of routinely placing a typecast punk song next to an instrumental, one song after the other, they boldly attempt to blend the two together in the space of one song. Lead single ‘Glitter’ has been described by some as ‘mid-tempo’. That’s what the sedated feedback guitar line would have you believe, but in truth there’s a pace to the song that could be compared to the likes of ‘Sleeper Hold’.

Instrumental pieces that are equally as renowned as the more brash songs get their time in the latter half of the record; ‘Sorts’ resembles ‘Strawberry Jam’-era Animal Collective and ‘Dusted’ and ‘Positive Amputation’ work as a grand, ambitious pair, beginning with sampled click drums and closing off with a triumphant, fuzz-laden guitar line. There’s an outstanding flow to the record, one that you’re only likely to acknowledge after a handful of listens. Picking out individual songs for analysis seems a pointless exercise when the album works so smoothly in one piece.

It’s the first No Age work that requires patience and exploration: their debut was so forward-thinking that it enticed immediately; the follow-up so hard-hitting and melodic that it became impossible to ignore. ‘Everything In Between’ uses the same ingredients as its predecessors but its ambition to create something grander and absolute is unmistakeable, thus it may take a while to become accustomed to, but the rewards are there for the taking.