There is something to say for brevity – the art of the haiku, the solid jab, the power nap. A swift cool breeze on a hot day. A whippit. A quickie under the bleachers. The hypodermic needle. It’s not just about instant gratification, but about substance delivered in the quickest, most effective manner possible. Efficiency in doses. At a time when attention spans have reached record lows, cultural trends uncharacteristically suggest that there is a demand for the epic, for the anti-quotidian, for the expansive dalliances of tried artists. Look at good films and albums from the past few years and you will discover steadily increasing song lengths (upwards of 10 minutes) and total run times (well beyond the two hour mark).
That’s not to say that there isn’t value in the modern opus, but that there is a special place for art that gets to the point and sends you reeling. No Age’s first ‘true’ full length album, Nouns, gets the job done (with 12 songs in under 30 minutes) and is ultimately the most repeatable album I’ve heard in a long time. No Age’s strong suit is structure and on Nouns, they lay it bare. There is no sonic fat to chew on, no unnecessary verses to balloon the track lengths. It is simple two chord rock n’ roll. But it’s not so simple. There are many aural layers to dig through and this is what makes it a record I go to over and over again, often consecutively.
There is honesty and conviction in every song, and most of all, passion for days. Dean sings like a true patriot, one who is positive, but dissatisfied. Someone who not only expects, but intstigates change. It’s a refreshing rock album that resists the urge to go beyond the songs’ best punches. If there’s anything to learn from Nouns, it’s knowing when to hold the punches that determines the fight. And with that said, I think I’ll start writing shorter posts…
