When guitar-and-drum duos broke out of their garages earlier this century/millennium, it was hard to tell a lot of them apart, but one act that did stand out was Los Angeles’ No Age. Their live show (QRO live review) is a fiery explosion, and debut full-length Nouns (QRO review) birthed the genre name ‘shitgaze’. However, that genre was stillborn, and with follow-up Everything In Between (QRO review), the band slid into lo-fi stereotypes. That continues with An Object.
It’s tough for a guitar-and-drums duo to come off as inventive, and the lo-fi to An Object is about as colorful as that album title. There is force at times, like with opener “No Ground”, and the group certainly reaches for distant, resigned, sadness in pieces like “An Impression” and “Running from A-Go-Go”, while closer “Commerce, Commerce, Commerce” joins together a bunch of sounds into a massive wash, but none feel like anything more than a stab. Even the catchy “Lock Box” isn’t that special, while the talk-singing to “Circling with Dizzy” feels amateur.
Too much was expected of No Age when they appeared – it’s hard for anybody to reinvent the garage, and No Age are still trying. Even if that’s all they’re doing.