On today's mix...
No Age - Nouns (2008)

Is it just me and my rudimentary knowledge of music before 1995, or are No Age incredibly retro? You can certainly hear some of Animal Collective's melodicism and the delivery of tour mates Liars, but their sound much more readily recalls the dirty indie of yore: Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, the Soft Boys, Black Flag, and maybe even the Monks. This is shoegaze meets punk--all very lo-fi--and very little about Nouns suggests that it was made in 2008.

That being said, it's a lot of fun. If it seems tailor made for the critics at Pitchfork (who unsurprisingly have given it their highest rating of the year thus far) it's not a bad thing. Despite influences that could drag it down, Nouns is an energetic thrill, and No Age packs each track with some nice surprises. Opener "Miner" begins Autechre-y before crossing into shoegaze at the twenty second mark. "Teen Creeps" is a major highlight, offering a clean, playful riff before blasting into a lo-fi jam. And "Things I Did When I Was Dead" sets the rhythm to a seriously menacing loop but ends up being the album's most conventionally lovely song, adding in some unexpected piano to an album otherwise dominated by guitar and static.

The album adds up to a quick, fleeting romp, full of great ideas that No Age never dwell on for long--the album's twelve songs average around 2 and a half minutes each. Good for keeping it fun, bad for keeping it memorable. Five minutes after the finish, it'll likely have left your head entirely, but it's pretty delightful while it lasts.

8/10