Not to be confused, of course, with '60s freakbeat avatars
the Action,
Action is a postmillennial Canadian hardcore revival quartet. Their self-titled debut is a dozen tracks' worth of competent but not particularly memorable hardcore. The singer, Andy (no last names, please), has a solid voice for hardcore, a proper hectoring bark that never threatens to slide into the silly black metal growl that too many present-day hardcore singers confuse with the correct hardcore vocal style, and the rhythm section burns along at frighteningly high speeds. But while the lyrics strike all the right hardcore buttons (war and repression = bad; self-determination = good), they're rarely more than simplistic sloganeering even when they're intelligible at all, and the songs don't do much more than start, rattle along for a couple of minutes, and then stop. Even early
Black Flag knew how to throw the occasional changeup into the set list. Devoted street punk fans might enjoy
Action on its own thin merits, but the group could use a greater source of personal inspiration.