Fresh Cherries from Yakima

the jury is split on no age. stereogum and pitchfork both love them [they’re playing all three pitchfork-curated events, all within months of each other]. so does my buddy nilina [who, um, contributes to pitchfork]. jeff weiss isn’t sure, and the stranger’s eric grandy is NOT a fan [grandy’s still my dude: when the new york times published the infamous blipster story, i wake up to a myspace message from him asking for my thoughts. THAT’S dedicated journalism]. and, well, as for me, given my penchant for experimental punk [see also: believe the hype: deerhunter, my own musical output], i’m sure you guys know which side i’m on.

i first heard about no age through fader magazine [F48, the one with devendra on the front cover and DJ quik on the back– who says print journalism is dead?], in an interview which made it hard for me to ignore a band having so much fun [”there’s a lot of things that dean does on the drums that make me laugh… that’s the reason why i play in no age, because it really, genuinely makes me happy”], i hit the internet to see what i can find. “everybody’s down,” a driving punk song with awesome little flourishes and dean sing-screaming his head off, was what i found first. and although i liked the song a great deal, the song i fell in love with was “neck escaper,” a song which i listed in my epic songs of 2007 list, a song that starts off with randy randall’s twinkling guitar, quickly turning abrasive and then turning into a buzzsaw of a riff as dean spunt’s drums playfully thrash, making the song sound like “blue orchid”-era white stripes meets “jimmy the exploder”-era white stripes. it’s one of the few songs from 2007 that i can listen to more than two-hundred times and still not get tired of, presumably because the whole thing is only two minutes and change long.

weirdo rippers, an album i’m reluctant to call the band’s debut [”compilation” is definitely a more apt term], can sometimes go on repeat for hours at a time in fresh cherries HQ. after listening to it [obvs] more than a few times and hearing about their unabashedly energetic live performances [i missed their opening slot for liars, an act that i’m still kicking myself for], it’s pretty safe to say that i feel no age is probably my favorite rock duo since the white stripes. needless to say, after hearing a badly-ripped live mp3 of a new one called “sleeper hold,” i’ve been feverishly anticipating nouns the duo’s debut proper, being released on the best record label in the known world, sub pop [fresh cherries from yakima: proudly serving as sub pop records’ unofficial online street team].

i understand that the music isn’t for everybody, but music aside, when an artist can give an interview this insightful and charming [hi again, nilina], it’s hard to not root for the guys. statements like “it takes a lot of guts to be honest” is something not many bands have the compassion to say these days. and although i wholeheartedly disagree on their stance on bill cosby sweaters [it’s an east coast thing: biggie made those shits cool!], the guys brought up a smattering of good points and amazing ideas. in fact, the interview inspired me to write a fan letter to the band [at least i’m man enough to admit that i’m 24 and still write fan letters], offering to take them to an awesome vegan cafe in seattle’s university district upon their next trip to our fair city. and really, you have to admit that the bands that elicit the strongest emotional reactions are the ones that you’d love to hang out with. and that’s probably a big reason why i don’t understand why the band inspire such negative reactions from certain people: how in the world could you hate two of the nicest guys in indie-rock?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 10:28 pm and is filed under believe the hype. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.