I heard a rumour that No Age were “growing up”, whatever that means.  So I wasn’t too sure what awaited my ears when ‘Fever Dreaming’ started to belt out of the speakers - I said “belt”, and by god do I mean it.

A quick flick of the drum sticks sets a juggernaut of a track in to motion rolling along with a classic punk-blessed riff that hits hard and asks questions later. It immediately grasps you, shakes you around like a baby’s rattle, then deposits you on the floor – battered, bruised, but certainly with the taste for more.

The LA duo have always been DIY in approach, somewhat unstructured and a bit manic at times, but I’ve always had a sense that they could pull out some structure if they wanted to. I guess this is what the “growing up” tag meant, as although ‘Fever Dreaming’ still maintains a manic wildness there is something of a plan at work here. The excellent guitar squeals that follow each barked verse acts as a stand in chorus, and there’s even a bridge in there that repeats the line “keep on dreaming!” as you’re lead back to the verse.

Finally you’re dumped abruptly as the final chord relinquishes, leaving you in a dazed state aided somewhat by the dream like organ chords that slowly fade away. If this is growing up they are definitely doing it their way.

No Age - Fever Dreaming by subpop