OKComputer1016
07/14/08, 05:23 PM
No Age - Weirdo Rippers
Recore Label: Fat Cat Records
Release Date: June 11, 2007
Since the group is named after that late 70’s collection of purposely unmusical New York noise (where Sonic Youth found the inspiration to write their first couple of impossibly jagged albums), this should sound absolutely terrible. However, by some strange miracle of balance from the musical forces that be, Weirdo Rippers just pretty much rules. Atmospheric, formless, and unconventional, yes. But uninviting, never.
No Age craft screaming garage-leaning melodies only to hide them behind brick walls of distortion. Bits and pieces of songs reveal themselves more with each listen, but none of these songs will ever seem “normal” to anybody. That’s mostly due to the small segues between sonic blasts that utilize every guitar effect in the world to transport the listener into outer space before violently shaking his ass out of it.
These guys basically sound like if Pyramids were music, like if there were ever a resolution to that band’s neverending tension buildup. Where Pyramids are like a long and winding joke that has no punchline, No Age is like a well-balanced and logical riddle that is, you know, actually worth your time. The balance is what makes the album work: half oceanic noise and half modern indie rock a la Broken Social Scene.
Although every one of these songs is unique for one reason or another, “Dead Plane” sticks out the most because it sounds like it could have fit right onto Boris’s Pink – which is not a claim that most mellowish indie groups can make. It's chaotically distorted rock-n-roll sound is supported by purposely lousy sound quality and a kind of flat vocal melody that will cling to your brain all day (even while you’re listening to other songs by other bands). Especially in this type of music, the earnestness and honesty of “real” sounding vocals always tends to add a whole new level of energy to the mix.
A lot of experimental groups get caught up in their indulgence and record whatever sprawling mess comes to mind in the studio, but that’s not the case here. Like Guided By Voices, every No Age song is only as long as it needs to be to get its point across. The tracks still flow into each other like it was one long piece, but it’s a pretty tight sounding one that doesn’t take too much effort or energy to appreciate.
Totally disorienting and psychedelic in the out-of-body experience sort of way, Weirdo Rippers is as weirdo as indie music gets right now, maybe ever. It’s creepy like the soundtrack to some insane Independent Film Channel movie, and you’ll seriously feel the suspense in your stomach. Totally recommended by this longtime fan of Sonic Youth (read: longtime fan of confusing my parents), this album is full of some of the best acquired taste music that I’ve heard in a long time.
Sonic Youth, Broken Social Scene, Pyramids
myspace.com/nonoage (http://www.myspace.com/nonoage)
Recore Label: Fat Cat Records
Release Date: June 11, 2007
Since the group is named after that late 70’s collection of purposely unmusical New York noise (where Sonic Youth found the inspiration to write their first couple of impossibly jagged albums), this should sound absolutely terrible. However, by some strange miracle of balance from the musical forces that be, Weirdo Rippers just pretty much rules. Atmospheric, formless, and unconventional, yes. But uninviting, never.
No Age craft screaming garage-leaning melodies only to hide them behind brick walls of distortion. Bits and pieces of songs reveal themselves more with each listen, but none of these songs will ever seem “normal” to anybody. That’s mostly due to the small segues between sonic blasts that utilize every guitar effect in the world to transport the listener into outer space before violently shaking his ass out of it.
These guys basically sound like if Pyramids were music, like if there were ever a resolution to that band’s neverending tension buildup. Where Pyramids are like a long and winding joke that has no punchline, No Age is like a well-balanced and logical riddle that is, you know, actually worth your time. The balance is what makes the album work: half oceanic noise and half modern indie rock a la Broken Social Scene.
Although every one of these songs is unique for one reason or another, “Dead Plane” sticks out the most because it sounds like it could have fit right onto Boris’s Pink – which is not a claim that most mellowish indie groups can make. It's chaotically distorted rock-n-roll sound is supported by purposely lousy sound quality and a kind of flat vocal melody that will cling to your brain all day (even while you’re listening to other songs by other bands). Especially in this type of music, the earnestness and honesty of “real” sounding vocals always tends to add a whole new level of energy to the mix.
A lot of experimental groups get caught up in their indulgence and record whatever sprawling mess comes to mind in the studio, but that’s not the case here. Like Guided By Voices, every No Age song is only as long as it needs to be to get its point across. The tracks still flow into each other like it was one long piece, but it’s a pretty tight sounding one that doesn’t take too much effort or energy to appreciate.
Totally disorienting and psychedelic in the out-of-body experience sort of way, Weirdo Rippers is as weirdo as indie music gets right now, maybe ever. It’s creepy like the soundtrack to some insane Independent Film Channel movie, and you’ll seriously feel the suspense in your stomach. Totally recommended by this longtime fan of Sonic Youth (read: longtime fan of confusing my parents), this album is full of some of the best acquired taste music that I’ve heard in a long time.
Sonic Youth, Broken Social Scene, Pyramids
myspace.com/nonoage (http://www.myspace.com/nonoage)