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$4.99 45

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NO AGE
Eraser EP
(Sub Pop)
LA noise-punk duo No Age explodes into Other Music again this week with another must-have vinyl release. Last March, Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt unleashed five vinyl-only EPs through five different DIY labels, the highlights of which were culled together to form Weirdo Rippers, one of 2007's most jammed-to records. This spring, we have No Age fever again because of Eraser, the band's first release on indie giant Sub Pop. No Age fans will find the content of this four-song 7" as comfortably familiar as many who stumble upon the band find Randy and Dean to be, with their boys-next-door vibe. Eraser follows the format of Weirdo Rippers, which packed a measured blend of both raging punk sing-alongs and ambient gems (albeit still rumbling with plenty of distortion).
Leaking just one song from their upcoming full-length debut Nouns,
Side A belongs entirely to "Eraser," a sublime pop jam whose bouncy, ecstatic intro builds with Randall riffing on just two chords and Spunt steadily smashing his sticks into a tambourine. Before you know it, No Age characteristically switches gears and pulls one of their two-part pranks where shoegazey pop turns into abrasive, mind-numbing punk, as in last year's volatile crowd favorite "Neck Escaper."
No Age crams three covers on the B side; because one can only sing along to the Wipers for so long before you're wiped out, the dudes ended up teaching themselves tunes by Nate Denver's Neck, the Urinals, and the Nerves when a snowstorm stranded them in the car together for 14 hours. On "Don't Stand Still," Nate Denver's disconsolate lyrics are paired with driving lo-fi eighties dance-pop. The Urinals' "Male Masturbation" is a faithfully rehashed (but even faster!) version of the one-and-a-half-minute, Ramones-esque, power-chords-only sing-a-long -- complete with wild cheering from buds at the end to drive home the have-a-blast-ness of the LA Smell crowd. "When You Find Out" is an underwater-style ambient interpretation of the full-on jangly power-pop song by the short-lived mid-'70s trio the Nerves, authors of the Blondie hit "Hangin' On the Telephone."
Fans and newcomers alike will agree that "Eraser" totally delivers -- but even though the recordings are essential, there's always the looming feeling of something more important when it comes to No Age --that's the mile-high mosh pit of good, clean fun. [KS] |
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