Everything in Between

With the stunning Everything in Between, Randall and Spunt's emergent sonic juggernaut, No Age is continuing to build, brick by brick, a bulletproof reputation for thunderous virtuosity-all without leaning on worthless crutches like Auto-Tune, capitalized formula, compromise and other fakery that divides pretenders from those who set fire to the dustbin of musical history.

Everything in Between is a triumphant leap forward from an already solid foundation, and one that cements the duo as one of this era's incontestably exceptional indie-rock acts.

Less ferocious, more deliberate but in many ways more compelling, Everything in Between finds No Age matching a new, nuanced approach to their expansive noise.

Like their music, No Age piles on meaning in incongruous layers.

If you bought Nouns and wondered what the big deal was, this is your chance to find out. No Age continue to grow as conceptual artists and songwriters, and after a summer of dumbed down garage band shenanigans (cough, Best Coast, cough) it's fun to have something that's both challenging and fun to listen to come out of that scene.

Everything in Between is the sound not just of potential realized, but of expectations exceeded.

The album fights back against the tide of boring, quiet music, and nearly every song feels like a throat-rupturing protest against standing still.

Just a hair less than 40 minutes of energetic music. Which is a welcome change by today's standards -- to simply appreciate some music by itself.

"Matured" is an overused word in music criticism, but that's what No Age have done. They've evolved in a completely logical direction in ways that are pleasantly surprising but never jarring.

Everything in Between is nearly 40 minutes long, which is epic for a band whose last two full-lengths were triumphs of brevity. And while 2008's Nouns alternated between rave-ups and bliss-outs, here the band spends more time, well, in between.

This time around, the lo-fi quality is less abrasive but still dirty and intimate enough to stop anyone from yelling Sell out!

By the time the vocal duet and droning guitars of Chem Trails come around, you'll realise that this is the sound of a band who are going from strength to strength.

For everything LA post-punk duo No Age lack in subtlety, they more than make up for with an innate understanding of dynamics.

As much as Everything In Between transcends what the band has released to date, nothing feels like a true departure, and everything seems like an improvement.

No Age's brief moment of near-mainstream notoriety may have passed by the time Everything in Between was released, but their growth as recording artists was progressing nicely and the album stands alongside Nouns as two of the finest noise rock/pop albums of the new millennium.

Avoiding the experimentation of their earlier work, No Age's second album-proper delivers winningly subterranean pop, bruised and vulnerable tuneage haunting their feedback racket reveries. [Oct. 2010, p. 97]

No Age might be what you've been seeking this whole time. If you're just a music snob and pride yourself on some peculiar yet ostensibly good sounds, this is definitely for you's as well. If you're looking for something else, something that utilizes more traditional instruments toward a particular and thought-provoking sonic texture, I sincerely recommend mathematical rockers No Age as a band altogether and thus unreservedly their work on Everything in Between as well!

Yet while the songs are somewhat more conventional, each one nevertheless invents a different combination of melody and irritant. The album isn't a retreat from noise--it's an expansion elsewhere.

Expectedly, the lacklustre delivery of the vocals throughout this album is its only slight shortcoming. The power of its songwriting and compelling twists and turns are more than enough to carry it though, and it warrants listen after listen after listen.

The album is a bold step, Spunt and Randall striving to write songs they would be psyched to listen to, and moving in a direction that will fail to disappoint fans of earlier releases 'Nouns' and 'Weirdo Rippers'. Rad.

For those who found that record [Nouns] to be a trying listen though, it's unlikely that the duo will win them over with Everything In Between, another lean and visceral assemblage of songs that expounds on many of Nouns' most endearing qualities.

How to cope [with increasing adulation and greater expectations]? It seems, by softly imploding--further muffling their already oddly diffuse abrasiveness and by replacing pummelling noise with woozily reflective loops. [Oct 2010, p.98]

Everything in Between shakes loose and overcomes in minor pacing issues and finds itself as No Age's finest record to date; a no-bullshit case for growing up. [Fall 2010, p. 61]

It's almost a given that No Age will continue to strive for more, no matter how high the band has already set the bar for itself.

Whether buried deep in the mix, as on "Dusted," or relatively up high, as on the wonderful "Valley Hum," untethered words and ideas drift through but minus the necessary vocal heft. This absence is frustrating, because it stands in stark contrast to the music that surrounds it, which is varied, colorful and consistently surprising.

It's an effortless move to help firm up No Age's place as one of the most bi-polar party bands around.

Everything in Between is as fine a monument to imperfection as they've built so far.

No Age will never be legit superstars, but they have a keen and loyal fanbase, something cherishable in a year likely to be paradoxically remembered for forgettable chancers.

Everything In Between is undoubtedly a step onward from its predecessors--it's more developed in every way, though admittedly lacks a little of the sheer raw bite that made Weirdo Rippers in particular so exhilarating.

Unlike previous releases, there is not a dire need to shuffle back a few tracks to listen repetitively, but more of a, 'when I'm in the mood' feeling. No Age are certainly living in the moment, and Everything In Between has a similar retention factor.

rything In Between can't help but live up to its title: a solid diversion until the next truly satisfying No Age release.

In Many ways, No Age have successfully distilled the pop essence of early-90s Sonic Youth: no mean feat, just not as memorable as last time. [Oct 2010, p.116]

Slavishly retro, but done with infectious enthusiasm. [Oct 2010, p.112]