No Age

A noise-rock duo from Los Angeles made up of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Spunt, formed in 2005 after the breakup of the hardcore-punk project Wives, in which both had played. Always interested in the connection between music and art, besides performing in traditional venues, including the famous The Smell, they've also played in art galleries for artists, such as friend Rich Jacobs, releasing a series of EPs that culminated in the compilation "Weirdo Rippers" (2007) and a signing with Sub Pop. Under the banner of the renowned Seattle label they released the excellent "Nouns" (2008), "Everything In Between" (2010), and the pop-leaning, somewhat uneven "An Object" (2013). Having moved to Drag City, Randall and Spunt regained greater creative freedom, choosing to return to the atmospheres of their early days with the guitar urgency between indie-rock and noise-pop of the effective, noisier "Snares Like A Haircut" (2018), and incorporating a few art-punk flourishes on the following "Goons Be Gone" (2020). "People Helping People" (2022) marks the duo's turn toward experimental rock, almost entirely setting aside for the first time the noise component that had been a constant in their previous work, in favor of a more abstract, lo-fi approach, with results that aren't always satisfying.

(Martina Vetrugno)