Posted on: September 28, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Scene of Action – S/T / 2007 Pop Smear / 5 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/sceneofaction / http://www.popsmearrecords.com /

I have to be honest here. When I first the instrumentation at the beginning of Scene of Action’s disc, I heard The Killers. In much of the same way, the first time I heard the band’s vocals on “Daydream Stop hock”, I thought they paid off Gerard Way to do the vocals. The vocals do stop being such a direct imitation when the band hits the chorus, but the band struggles with providing a unique product for the entirety of the inaugural track. While individuals that have gotten into pop music in the last few years will not know it, “Conscience Ache” sounds as if Scene of Action have taken their fair share of late nineties British rock, specifically Placebo and Muse albums, into the recording booth with them.

 While there is a much less direct link between the influence and the finished track, Scene of Action is still fighting to establish their own sound by the time that this track ends. The middle track of this disc is “Keeping Up”, and it marks again a further shift away from the direct aping of a specific band or style’s sound. This track has a stripped-down, rock sound to it. Similar bands to the style embraced by Scene of Action here include Rage Against The Machine and Velvet Revolver. In Scene of Action’s defense, this track is something that could easily make it onto rock rotation. “The Truth Is Out” shows what I presume to be Scene of Action’s “true” sound. That time out, there is no readily attributable styles of influences, and the band keeps in the same gritty rock style that marked “The Truth IS Out”> The vocals mix together Coldplay and Radiohead, but this is okay considering the work of the instruments here. Pick up the band’s new album, and see if they have divested themselves of readily-accessible influences.

Top Track: The Truth Is Out

Rating: 5.2/10

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