No Age — Nouns

Last year's Weirdo Rippers, a FatCat compilation of No Age's EPs, hinted at the possibility that having two people in your band might not mean your music has limitations (see: nearly every two-piece on Earth). Nouns only proves the theory, since it's a massive leap forward for Randy Randall and Dean Spunt. The songs here better employ distortion and further explore Spunt's drums as a musical instrument, rather than just a percussive one. "Teen Creeps" and "Miner" both combine effortless punk thrills with My Bloody Valentine-esque drone. Spunt's vocals are more confident on the second go-around, while Randall seems to be trying to evoke every conceivable noise he can produce from his guitar. The whole affair is incredibly short — most songs just barely scrape the two-minute mark — but one gets the feeling that No Age are going to keep producing records fast and furious. The band's excitement over the simple act of making music is insanely palpable.

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