The reason that there’s been no end of year lists yet on MPT is that I’m still working my way through some of this year’s LPs.
One of which is ‘Everything In Between’ by No Age. I lamented the lack of interesting new Scottish rock bands a couple of weeks ago and whilst No Age certainly aren’t Scottish they are definitely interesting.
‘Everything In Between’ is their third and peddles a nice line in American punk psychedelia. It’s easy to see why they attracted the attention of Bob Mould as at times EIB is reminiscent of a more accessible ‘Zen Arcade’. Its eclectic mix of songs is something it has in common with that Hüsker Dü classic even if it doesn’t go anywhere near an 18 minute freak out at any point. Other reference points include slacker vocals and even hints of shoegaze.
Of course the history of rock is too well known these days for a record in a similar genre to have the same impact as ‘Zen Arcade’ did back then but ‘Everything In Between’ is an adventurous beast in its own right. Not least in the fact that ‘Dusted’, an instrumental close cousin of Deerhunter, is followed by another majestic instrumental ‘Positive Amputation’.
If ‘Everything In Between’ has a weakness is that there aren’t too many stand-out tracks that you could play to someone and say, THIS is what No Age are about.
Which may stop the record becoming a stone cold classic but in a way is also a good thing by making the point that this isn’t the easiest record to pin down. And it’s certainly proving to be a durable beast for repeated plays at the moment in these parts. Definitely worth checking out and destined for the MPT Top 10 for ’10.
A fan made video for ‘Glitter’:
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