Pitchfork

Prettying up-- and weirding up-- punk rock's three-chord energy is a big part of what No Age do. Witness the way the Los Angeles duo's 2007 EP compilation, Weirdo Rippers, alternates between the airy and detached power-chord pop clanging of "Boy Void" or "Everybody's Down" and the textured feedback ambience of "Dead Plane" or "Escarpment"; on several tracks, such as cymbal-splashing "Neck Escaper" or start-stop singalong "My Life's Alright Without You", it all exists at once. Stands to reason these dudes can figure out their way around a remix. Toronto instrumentalists Holy Fuck also combine high-decibel assault and ethereal prettiness on their sophomore LP LP, particularly the song-like "Lovely Allen", where twinkling keyboards offset a two-drum rhythm section. No Age's remix of the track soaks it in cymbals and distorted exuberant shouts, until it winds up sounding like something No Age might've come up with entirely on their own. There's a blipping drum break, guitar noise that screams or jangles depending on the moment, and the simple, catchy bass line from the original at the center of it all. At two minutes, the track ends too soon, and you can sometimes hear distracting clicks where the bass loop repeats...but brevity and a do-it-yourself preference for passion over technical perfection are as much a part of No Age's sensibility as, like, art and skateboarding. Holy shit goddamn, Holy Fuck.