I really like the packaging on this little cd, very indiemo! A cabin out in the snowy wilds
of a forest, and a bridge with a telegraph pole, and a road going off into the mist. Action
and Action’s music actually manages to fit in with the indiemo design too, with the band playing a very
nice brand of melodic post-hardcore. This is some of the better music of this style I have
heard from the UK in rather a while. Its nice and complex, with a solid dose of the bounce,
and great strained / sung vocals and backing. On the opener they handily throw in some
messy mid-westmo, similar to the Kossabone Red and suchlike. The following track mellows
out and fiddles around in a fashion similar to early Promise Ring with jangling guitars and
softness winding all around. Lovely, though they build up to some noisier parts later –
personally I would dispense with the screaminess, as they play the sweet melodies so well
that it seems a shame to spoil ’em.
And that’s the kind of thing you get sprinkled through out this cd, a blend of the
grooving, more chuggy post-hc, and the fun tunefulness of midwestmo bands of yore. My
preference lies firmly with the latter but this band are no slouches and do well at mixing
the two together. The only thing I really would suggest though is that they ditch the (occasional) screaming, its annoying, its what sucky MTVmo bands do.
If you enjoyed Spy vs Spy, the Green Acre or Itch, you really should check these guys out.
I’d peg them as better than the latter two though not quite up there with the Spies (then
again, not many bands are). Nice ep, a super little surprise as this was sent in for
review, its been a while since I heard something in that fashion that I was really
impressed by, but A&A defy that tradition. Good uns!