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It must be noted that I have never been a fan of No Age. Their two albums Weirdo Rippers and Nouns have tried and failed in making a home in my music collection. My ambivalence towards the lo-fi indie rock that is all the rage these days probably has something to do with this bitter taste that I have towards No Age.
But something keeps pulling me back to this band. Maybe it’s Randy Randall and Dean Sprunt’s predilection towards ‘guerilla gigs’ or reviving Husker Du, complete with Bob Mould or live scoring the film ‘The Bear’. Sure, No Age’s music is lo-fi, but their drive to bring something special to the scene is highly admirable. This admiration drove me to give the new four song Sub Pop EP Losing Feeling a shot.
Losing Feeling, while sharing similarities with No Age’s previous releases, feels different, more fleshed out. The songs no longer seem like a wall of fuzz and reverb, but like dynamic songs that change from track to track. The opening title track plays like a contemplative slow burner, strangely reminiscent of Andrew Bird and leads into the delicate and drumless ‘Genie’. My favorite track on EP is the instrumental ‘Aim at the Airport’ which slowly builds tension on layers of effect laden guitars and tape loops leading to the EP’s climax, ‘You’re a Target’, the sole rocker on the EP, that I can’t help thinking was influenced by their time with Bob Mould playing Husker Du songs.
While I still wouldn’t call myself a No Age fan, I do respect what they are doing. On Losing Feeling the band has delivered a great listen from start to finish.
There probably aren’t many greater things than coming home on a nice Spring afternoon to a Bob Mould track in your inbox. There’s something youthful about his music, even though he’s been in the music-making game for quite some time. I’m just really excited that he’s bringing out the rock; though I still enjoy his work with Sugar, it’s these sorts of songs, encompassing the great writing of a power-pop genius, that really get me pumped. I can’t wait to hear his new record, Beauty & Ruin, when Merge releases it on June 3rd.
