A lot of great music exists out there. But NBN can’t devote a slot to every CD that hits shelves, especially for bands you may have never heard of. So, that’s where we come in. Los Angeles buzz band No Age go under the microscope today.

The No Age T-shirt offers some insight into the Los Angeles noise duo’s sound. The apparel, passing even the ironic tee in the sought-after-by-hipster categories, transcends conflicts. The shirt appears simple enough, with the band name the only element plastered on the cloth, but it recalls the loud, gaudy, often ironic big-lettered shirts. The No Age shirts scream and stay quiet at the same time, actions that cancel one another out to create a unique product. It’s a lot like the music on the group’s major label debut Nouns, one of the year’s best releases.

Nouns is something foreign but something you’ve heard before. It’s loud, but also comforting. Stormy clouds concealing rays of warmth. The duo of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/singer Dean Spunt cover the 12 songs on the album in guitar feedback and noise, but underneath all the fury rest easily accessible rock songs, the type that get stuck in your brain as long as the cacophony doesn’t give you a headache. No Age’s unique blanket of guitar squall and hard-hitting drums tucked over delicate melodies sounds old and new all at once, ultimately becoming a simply great listen.

First song “Miner” sets the stage, with a semi-soft opening eventually tumbling into a loud charge concealing Spunt’s vocals before dissolving into silence. “Eraser” flirts with tropicalia-tinged guitars before overpowering them with guitar fuzz, while “Cappo” pushes drums to the front before a Sonic Youth-ish conclusion fires the song into a new direction. The album finds the young duo also playing beyond the noise, such as on the calm but downtrodden slow-song “Things I Did When I Was Dead,” or the bubble-gum-rock-with-facial-disfiguration of “Here Should Be My Home,” the album’s most accessible song. Noun’s greatest moment comes “Sleeper Hold,” a catchy jackhammer of a song refusing to stop for a second, all of No Age’s energy keeping it blasting forward while never becoming dull.

Hype aside, No Age don’t signify some radical breakthrough in the musical world. Nouns, like a new shirt you really dig, simply offers 12 awesome songs that, though not industry-changing, sound loud, exciting and inviting. Not all clothes have to be fashion statements, and not all memorable albums have to be revolutionary. Sometimes, like with Nouns, greatness comes from being simply unique and catchy.

Bonus live video of No Age performing “Sleeper Hold” in Los Angeles