Action Painters – Chubby Dancer

Action Painters – Chubby Dancer / 2007 Self / 7 Tracks / http://www.actionpaintersband.com /

This version of the Action Painters is from Brooklyn. The original action painters were individuals that included painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kline. I consider myself lucky that the music on “Chubby Dancer” is nothing like the work of the early action painters. This means that the opening track, “Absolutely Clear” is not all over the canvas, scattered and touch and go, but rather is a compelling bit of retro-sounding rock that is simultaneously catchy, hook-laden, and musically intelligent. The intensity of the band is what is the selling point of “Chubby Dancer”, and this includes the bass, the guitar, the splashy drums, and the vocals (which at times even approach the level of an early Tom Petty.

For individuals that wish to know how well the band transfers their solid, intense, and always fun sound to the live context, the band ends “Chubby Dancer” off with the hard-hitting “Chasing Pixies”. While individuals are not able to compare that directly to the studio tracks on this album, it continues the same impressive trend that began during “Absolutely Clear”. “Sooner or Later”, the disc’s second track, has the vocals move to more of a blend of Thom yorke and Modest Mousee, while at any second of the track, five different things are occurring. The band is easily the equivalent of The Zutons or The White Stripes when it comes to the creation of catchy rock tracks that will stick around listeners’ heads for days, weeks, or even months to come. If you can, see them live. If you cannot, make it a duty of yours to go and pick up “Chubby Dancer”. You will not be disappointed. The band will break it big in the next year, so before you see them in Spin and Rolling Stone, buy “Chubby Dancer”.

Top Tracks: Sooner or Later, Never Say I’m Sorry

Rating: 8.5/10