Send "No Age " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 Words like "accomplished" and "discipline" seem opposed to the very ideals on which punk was founded. But L.A. dream-punks No Age seek to straighten up and fly a little straighter on their second LP, Everything in Between, tamping down their whiplash tempos, prying open their songs to let a little more air in, further settling into their frantic sound. Their songwriting's grown in leaps and bounds, evincing unexpected depth yet never shying from a satisfying detour. And their sound's become more balanced; hot blasts of dissonance have been turned into smoldering pockets of noise. Everything in Between is a grown-up, downright respectable record about the pitfalls of being a lifer with a 9 to 5, and the sound's matured along with their outlook. Less ferocious, more deliberate but in many ways more compelling, Everything in Between finds No Age matching a new, nuanced approach to their expansive noise.By this point, you probably know what goes into a No Age song: A scuzzy intro jumps face-first into a thrashabout hook, either jumping again into another firestorm or swelling to a swift end. On 2008's Nouns, they cut these ripcords through with huge, gorgeous clouds of sound. It worked beautifully at the LP level, but the songs themselves felt shot out of a cannon. They didn't always leave room for nuance. Everything in Between fiinds a little space for everything. Randy Randall's guitar now buzzes and howls throughout these songs, providing them with a backbone rather than simply standing behind them and shoving. Dean Spunt's drums go from a wet thwack to a wild carnival stomp as the situation dictates, seeming to take on new forms as the LP progresses. Every tone, from Randall's guitar squeals to Spunt's impassioned shouts, feels treated, scuffed up, warped. But the sounds are more spectral, less squalid, a product of Randall's varying his guitar tones and the duo's embracing a few more patient tempos. Rather than stepping to one huge precipice at the edge of every song, they've made them more jagged, played up the inter nal tensions, and traded in one big thrill for a seemingly self-propelled series of precision blasts....full text |
| Bbc |
| This latest offering marks a momentous point in No Age’s career: it’s carry on paddling or make a huge splash time. Their 2007 debut-of-sorts Weirdo Rippers, which collected single and EP tracks, and its follow-up Nouns, released just a year later, were enjoyable romps through the joys of noise but hardly left an impact. Everything in Between, however, shows that the Los Angeles duo have not only been seriously exploring experimentation, but it also sees them hone a new-found ear for infectious melodies. It’s a dizzying combination when done well, as it is here. So it’s all change from the off, as Life Prowler’s buzzing guitars and thumped drums build and build into a thoroughly epic opener filled with grace, melancholy and beauty – three striking new developments in the No Age sound. Glitter continues with this eerie atmosphere, albeit with the occasional screeching riff thrown in. By the time the Dinosaur Jr.-esque Fever Dreaming is unleashed, Everything in Between has really kicked off, this furious, ferocious and frenetic track seriously picking up the pace of the record. Just when you think you’ve got them pegged, of course, No Age morph again. Depletion, Common Heat and Skinned are thrillingly catchy, the latter’s crunchy rhythms and numerous key changes making it a real high point. But Katerpillar is the first of four dreamy instrumental efforts, the last of which, Positive Amputation, features a piano and brooding Mogwai-isms. Nobody saw that one coming. And these bold forays into new territories continue right up until the record’s final breath of Chem Trails, which features guitars that sigh with longing and a call-and-response exchange from riff-man Randy Randall and drummer Dean Allan Spunt that works incredibly well....full text |
| Guardian |
| For everything LA post-punk duo No Age lack in subtlety, they more than make up for with an innate understanding of dynamics. Sounding in places like Sonic Youth, Everything in Between – the follow-up to 2008's critically lauded Nouns – constantly explores the relationship between melodic immediacy and primal blasts of noise. First single Glitter starts like a lo-fi My Sharona before being enveloped by shards of guitar squall, while the lovely Chem Trails rolls along nicely before firecrackers explode beneath a noodly guitar solo. Elsewhere, the visceral Fever Dreaming is juxtaposed with the percussive jangle of the Deerhunteresque Common Heat and a handful of abstract instrumentals help create texture on an album that relies mainly on a visceral relationship between drums and guitar. Dean Allen Spunt's fairly blank vocals may have trouble conveying anything other than a downcast shrug, but musically, Everything in Between manages to run the full gamut....full text |
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