No. 49: No Age

No Age is a drum/guitar duo from Los Angeles. If I were to come up with a term to describe their sound, I'd say "space punk." They're loud -- especially for only two people -- but they also use a lot of sampled loop sounds. It makes for an interesting mix.

Their latest release, "Nouns" is a quick, thick rocker. It has catchy, poppier punk songs, and it has more experimental songs as well. (One of the songs is actually very Animal Collective-esque, which I dig). But regardless of the type of song, they rarely crack the 3:00 mark. I know that's the punk rock way of doing things, but when there are only 12 tracks, it kind of leaves me wanting more.

No Age is associated with "The Smell," an underground-community music club in LA that supports musicians and artists.

I have a tendancy to not really like bands with only two members, especially when I see them live. I feel like they lack the presence of a full band. Because of this, I'm kind of worried I won't like them live. I'm not sure how thier crazy sounds will transfer to the live stage -- if they even use them at all. I did check out one of their songs last year at Pitchfork and wasn't blown away, but I will probably give them a chance to win me over this year at Lolla. I enjoy "Nouns" enough to give them that chance.

No Age on Myspace