The Walrus - Music With Big Fuckin' Teeth!

04/28/2008

Album Review: No Age Brings the Noise (Pop) on 'Nouns'

I may be in the minority among the indie-rock elite when I say that I am not exactly a fan of No Age's compilation of 7"s and EPs, Weirdo Rippers. Fault me as you may, but my sometimes stubborn eardrums prefer to be awakened by pop cohesion and direct emotion, and the majority of said comp's abstractness never truly got a rise out of me.

Enter their official debut album Nouns, an epic continuum of distorted guitar symphonies that celebrates pop music and lends a voice to the complications of youth. The sound, descended from indie-rock royalty of the past, is no doubt possessed by a spirit that belongs strictly to No Age.

From the teeth grinding grandeur of "Teen Creeps" and the jingle-jangle headrush of "Eraser" to the oceanic guitar fragments of "Keechie", Nouns combines the best of their experimental side with the best of their pop leanings. Yep, this is something I can DEFINITELY get behind.

Pre-order Nouns now from Sub-Pop and it will surely be delivered to your oh so patient hands by May 6th with a ca-razy colorful package/booklet, not to mention limited edition artworks by Monsieur Ed Templeton (NOICE!), that you will gush over while your ears lovingly absorb the sounds.