Song of the Day: Dub Thompson - No Time

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Afternoon Show with DJ Kevin Cole, is “No Time” by Dub Thompson from the 2014 album 9 Songs on Dead Oceans.

Dub Thompson - No Time (MP3)

Despite being a mere 19-years-old, the teenage duo Dub Thompson cite some pretty sophisticated influences: Can, Big Black, Kraftwerk, Pere Ubu. Guitarist Matt Pulos and drummer Evan Laffer met in junior high in Agoura Hills, CA, a small suburb north on 101 of Los Angeles. While classmates were listening to ska, Pulos and Laffer were drawn to the eccentricity of Talking Heads and They Might Be Giants. They dug through their parents' record collections, discovering Oingo Boingo, XTC, and even Todd Rundgren. By the time they had graduated high school, the two boys had completed the songs that would be on their debut, 9 Songs, out now on Dead Oceans.

Recorded with another teenage friend, fellow Agoura Hills resident, Jonathan Rado of Foxygen, 9 Songs somehow encapsulates all their teenage inspirations, and humor — there's actually only eight songs on the release. Today's pick, "No Time," is a hypnotic static-filled track, with, yes, a dubbed-out rhythm behind those cryptic lyrics. You can imagine 14-year-old versions of Pulos and Laffer drawing on memories of their dad's crackling records, David Byrne's love of rocksteady rhythms, and the hypnotic quality of Krautrock.

You can follow the band on Twitter and Facebook, and catch them on July 25th at the Capitol Hill Block Party. And check out the video for "No Time" below: directed by Vinyl Williams, the boys call it a “sexy game of cosmic Twister.”