Action Figures
by Grant Moser
December 1997
DCMusicwwweb
"Laura?....Laura?" the CD begins. A little girl's voice, someone playing hide and seek and not enjoying the game anymore, she sounds lost, sounds searching. "Little Citizens" by Action Figures explores what the changes you encounter in growing up, experimenting until you find you groove. ("It's not school anymore/ It's just the ride around". - "Lauraville".)
The band consists of Chris Piller (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Jim Waters (guitars, vocals, bass), Jeff Smith (guitars, bass) and Josh Rowley (drums, vocals). The vocals (on some of the songs) have a Tom Petty/Perry Farrell lilt, that gravely, whining sound. The music (on some of the songs) is serious and quite good. Their sound is hard to describe, but that's a good thing.
The first part of the album has heavy undertones in the music, falling somewhere between a slightly subdued Everclear, a notched up Alice in Chains, an XTC tone, and a modern 90's feel. "Caroline" and "Lauraville" show this trend the most. The lyrics are well written too, as from "Idoline": "You stopped every one of my hearts.", or "Caroline": "I can't believe what happens/ I get so angry when she doesn't come around / It was a thrill we got here/ Then you made us turn around."
Then when you get a few songs into the CD and you think you have them figured out, Action Figures turn everything upside down and come out with "Super Heroine" ("Hey you my Super Heroine/ Wake up and fly again") which is a quirky and campy, but incredibly catchy song. It reminds me of The Who. Seriously.
However they changed the singer from the previous songs to these, this guy sounds like Roger Daltry and the music has that familiar rock feel. "Tough With Love" showcases a driving guitar behind the steady beat that reminds one of an updated Who. The song "and something goes through me/ Simple like laughter/ Puts me back on track with the feelings I'm after".
Action Figures may sound like a conglomeration of familiar music, but barely. They have a great new sound that is refreshingly unfamiliar. Check them out.