ACTION ACTION
An Army of Shapes Between Wars
Victory Records
· Kind of like The Killers, but they will never sell as many records.
Easily the trendiest band on Victory Records, Action Action eschew the label’s angry post-hardcore screamo in favour of ’80s-inspired synth-driven rock. The front end of the album is loaded with danceable tracks heavy on the synth licks and stuttering guitar that have been all the rage since Gang of Four started getting name-dropped again. Front man Clarke Foley dresses up his limp poetry, which includes clunkers like "stick a fork in me I’m done," with a distracting gothy drawl. Just ignore it and shake your ass.
Later in the album, these New Yorkers lift an almost criminal Brit pop stance, outright cribbing Oasis on their single "The Game." The switch between that and clubby body-movers and effects-heavy new wave may induce whiplash, but this four-piece have just enough swagger to pull it off. Like all good trendy acts, Action Action is best enjoyed on a surface level, but if all you really want to do is dance, how deep do you need to go?
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