Action Action, ‘An Army of Shapes Between Wars’
By user • Feb 6th, 2006 • Category: Album Reviews
If Mark Thomas Kluepfel could make up his mind what type of band he leads, Action Action might not be half bad.
But if the second LP from the Long Island quartet is any indication, the songwriting frontman has a long way to go to figure out what kind of musician he is – or rather, what kind of musician he wants to be.
Though “An Army of Shapes Between Wars” is more consistent than the band’s marginally talked about and even less enjoyable debut, it still suffers from the same problems.
The 13 tracks link together like a schizophrenic dash through Kluepfel’s childhood record collection. And though Sybiling between new wave and power pop may work for “play anything” radio stations, it’s suicide for a band without a dominant characteristic.
As it stands, the group’s talent may be in giving a substantial supply of unanswered questions.
Why does Kluepfel occasionally slip into a British accent? What’s the point of fusing extended segments of minimalist beats and moog notes between tracks? Is this a guitar-driven or keyboard band?
Still, you can’t blame Action Action entirely for its confused sophomore output. With a record label that launched a “For fans of The Killers, The Faint and Depeche Mode” marketing campaign while including a who?s who of pop-punkers in the liner notes? thanks, it’s no wonder Action Action feels pressured to reach both demographics.
Whether the band tailors its sound to appease Victory Records or if the Chicago-based label just works with the material it’s given is a nature/nurture stone better left unturned.
What remains is a band trying too hard to be everything – when it should concentrate first on being something.
Northern Star, Feb. 3, 2006
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