A continent-spanning pop collective and mutual admiration society,
the No Ones is a collaborative project featuring two American musicians of note -- former
R.E.M. guitarist
Peter Buck and
Young Fresh Fellows and
Minus 5 leader
Scott McCaughey -- and two members of the celebrated Norwegian indie pop band
I Was a King,
Arne Kjelsrud Mathisen and
Frode Strømstad. Specializing in scrappy and energetic indie rock with plenty of hooks and an offbeat sense of humor,
the No Ones made their debut in 2017 with the four-song EP
Sun Station, but expanded their ambitions with their first full-length album, 2020's The Great Lost No Ones Album.
Peter Buck and
Scott McCaughey have had a long working relationship;
McCaughey was a touring member of
R.E.M. and frequently assisted on their studio sessions beginning with the tour following 1994's
Monster, and
Buck often brought
McCaughey along for his projects with artists such as
Robyn Hitchcock,
Alejandro Escovedo, and
Filthy Friends.
McCaughey was also a key participant in the sessions for
Buck's post-
R.E.M. solo albums (2012's Peter Buck, 2014's I Am Back to Blow Your Mind Once Again, and 2015's Warzone Earth), and
Buck in turn often sat in with
McCaughey's ad hoc group
the Minus 5 and
the Baseball Project, a group devoted to songs about the national pastime also featuring
Dream Syndicate frontman
Steve Wynn.
Having firmly established their fondness for making records with friends and artists they admire,
Buck and
McCaughey met
Mathisen and
Strømstad in 2015 when the Americans were appearing at the Ice Station Vadsø festival in Norway, where
I Was a King were also on the bill. The four hit it off and
Mathisen and
Strømstad asked
Buck and
McCaughey if they could add some overdubs to a side project they were recording. After passing song ideas and files back and forth, they recorded four original songs without setting foot in the same studio, and they opted to release them later that same year on an EP titled
Sun Station. All parties involved were happy with the results, and in 2017
Mathisen and
Strømstad flew to Portland, Oregon, where they joined
Buck and
McCaughey for five days of recording. The completion of the album was delayed when
McCaughey suffered a stroke in November 2017 before he could complete overdubs and mixing for the project, but he went on to a full recovery, and in March 2020, The Great Lost No Ones Album was released in the United States by Yep Roc. ~ Mark Deming