With all the comparisons to bands like The Killers, Depeche Mode and even New Order going round, I was really, really looking forward to this release. Made up of members of the now defunct The Reunion Show and Count The Stars – two bands that I quite liked even if they did stray from your typical Victory sound – Action Action certainly have the history and the talent to make an impact. But I can’t help but feel that ‘Don’t Cut Your Fabric To This Year’s Fashion’ is a little half-hearted; and certainly a big disappointment. While in places it’s catchy, anthemic, cool and quirky, there are too many moments which just pass you by and leave you thinking ‘what if?’
For me ‘Don’t Cut Your Fabric To This Year’s Fashion’ doesn’t have enough get up and go – it’s a record which at times like the pizzaz of bands like Hellogoodbye or the sheer anthemic scale that New Order and Depeche Mode have. There’s a huge 80’s influence here; ‘This Year’s Fashion’ sounds like it was made in 1983 while the synth that opens ‘Drug Like’ was possible born even before that. The problem is that although these are the first two songs on the album, they’re arguably two of the weakest songs here and don’t really grab you as a listener. The latter track trudges on for almost five minutes – it’s the musical equivalent of a footballing bore draw. It takes the far more upbeat ‘Photograph’ to actually give this record the kick up the arse it needs – the guitars are far more prevalent and the synths are used when necessary, rather than leading the track into a vast pit of nothingness as ‘Bleed ‘ does.
There’s a renaissance during the album’s middle part – a surge that runs through a trio of tracks which saves this record from mediocrity. ‘Instructions On Building A Model Airplane’ is dirty sounding and raw – and very Joy Division – ‘Eighth Grade Summer’ is poptastic, while ‘Let’s Never Go To Sleep’ has a real buzzing guitar tone that harks back to a flock of seagull haircuts and scenes from the movie ‘The Wedding Singer’. Vocalist Mark Klupfel sounds a lot like Morrisey on this track, in my opinion anyway, and it’s the way the band mix the style and swagger of bands such as The Smiths with a 21-st century sound that amkes Action Action stand out. It’s just a real pity that there aren’t enough standout moments to make this a great CD – instead it remains in the realms of good. Album number two could be one to watch…
www.action-action.com
Victory Records
Paul