Labels: Greed Recordings
Review by: Phil Differ
Action Dead Mouse’s second release, “Revenge of Doormats and Coasters’, is an above average attempt at blending genres such as screamo, post-punk and post-rock. Coming across like a mix of fellow countrymen La Quiete and Nervous Kid, these Italians are definitely trying something different. The only problem is that my attention occasionally wanders, especially on “Room 121′ and “Concerto for One Hand Clapping’, due to the fact I think compared to the other songs they could have been better written.
Back to the positives though, the extra (string and brass) instrumentation on each track is beautiful and helps build great tension. One particular great example is during “Dancing Paper Solo’ where the band really hit home with what they are trying to do. This song is like a mix of City of Caterpillar, Polvo and Mogwai. The eight track, “Another Sad Messiah pt 1: Last Night I Thought About Motivations” is probably the most heartfelt piece of music I have ever heard in a while, tugging on your heart strings the same way that Catena Collapse do.
In conclusion, the negative aspects are small and hopefully they will be smoothed out for their next release. The sparse yet powerful vocals, the technically proficient drumming, the tight guitar and bass interplay and the soaring string melodies make this a release worth picking up.