D.O.A. founder/leader
Joey "Shithead" Keithley was there at punk's onset, unafraid of anyone, and more than years and 13 albums later, he follows its forgotten command to speak up, offend the blandly comfortable, and follow the credo of this LP's title (not to be confused with
D.O.A.'s 1991 live LP of the same name). An opening blast such as "That's Why I'm an Atheist" is the immediate attention grabber that shows how the life-long Vancouverite still boldly lays the lumber (a hockey term), much as a 2010 Chinese tour was shades of
D.O.A.'s daring '80s Iron Curtain sojourns beaching Soviet-style state control. And like 2008's surprising
Northern Avenger,
Talk - Action = 0 is more of the hard rockin' vintage punk and hot-button proto-hardcore
D.O.A. began with from 1978-1982. Prime smokers such as "Rebel Kind" (in the "I'm Right You're Wrong" vein), "They Hate Punk Rock," and an update of 1978's "Disco Sucks" EP's anti-harassment anthem "Royal Police" (retitled "The R.C.M.P.") show
Keithley's founding chip still resolutely planted on his shoulders, much as his trademark chunky guitar riffs rip coarse and thick -- even without original bassist
Randy Rampage, whose 2006-2008 stint was his third, this time. Best,
Keithley's sociopolitical eye remains sharp as an ice pick on the standout "I Live in a Car" (not the 1979
U.K. Subs song, but it's high time someone nailed the recession's human havoc), the says-it-all "Consume! Consume!," and the surprisingly-doesn't-suck punk cover of
Bob Dylan's 1964 U.K. number nine "The Times They Are A-Changin'." All highlight an intrepid album that hits hard and scores; vim, vigor, vitriol, and compassion will keep us together. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover