Guitarist Randy Randall and vocalist/drummer Dean Spunt have been making music as No Age for about a year, but they've used their time together wisely. Having already toured internationally and released five vinyl-only EPs on five different labels, they have the accomplishments of a band in their golden years. Mostly abandoning the noise rock of previous band Wives, Weirdo Rippers, a full-length built from the best of those EPs, is a fitting introduction to No Age's hazy jams.
"Every Artist Needs a Tragedy" opens the record with some oceanic noise that transforms into a cheerful riff, capturing a certain sentiment with an extended intro of sampled waves doused with white noise. "Boy Void" follows it up with some youthful punk rock, while "My Life's Alright Without You" takes a slower, plodding approach to its catchy chorus. The biggest gem on the record is "Everybody's Down," a timelessly laid-back slacker anthem. Weirdo Rippers sounds like your favorite indie cassette gone through the wash and actually improved by the messy sound.
A ramshackle duo of major-chord noise punk swimming in salty, ambient waves of fuzz, No Age is the perfect summer band for rejects. Despite their forays into extended avant-noise intros, Randall and Spunt bustle through the eleven tracks on Weirdo Rippers in just over a half hour, with a playful reckless abandon. The real secret to No Age's noisy onslaught is an unnerving penchant for spectacular hooks. Weirdo Rippers dishes them out continuously for its short duration, making them just off kilter enough to be endlessly playable.
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