THE ACTION PLAN
The Action Plan are a Bristol based pop-punk band formed in 2008 and originally from South Wales. They relocated after suffering lineup changes and to reach a wider audience. Consisting of four members - Danny (Bass & Vocals), Thom (Guitars), Rich (Guitars) and Harry (Drums) - ‘Never Say Die’ is their debut and the album with which they hope is going to springboard them to the next level.
What do I think will happen?...well, the jury is out on that one. If you like fairly generic pop-punk reminiscent of many bands that were around in the 1990s or, indeed, some of the newer UK based bands that have been popping up over the last 18 months then this might well be for you. It’s not my cup tea but it’s perfectly acceptable for what it is. None of the tracks are remotely original, pretty much sounding like an identikit Blink 182 or The Ataris. Tracks such as ‘Hometown Hero’, ‘Believe It Or Not’ and ‘This One’ bounce along but none are memorable when the CD comes out of the stereo, indeed all the songs eventually seem to merge into one long piece of music being very similar in style and content. There also seems to be an over reliance on digital drums and effects throughout the album. I have always said that less is sometimes more and that is something I think The Action Plan need to consider when writing future songs. Not every tiny gap needs to be filled with reverb, echo or extra fills, let it breathe.
I can well imagine that if this type of music does it for you and you were brought up on 90s US pop-punk, or indeed too young to remember this style the first time around, then The Action Plan could deliver a fun gig of jumping around with a party atmosphere. Likewise, it would be perfect fodder for a 14-15 year olds summer party where everyone thinks these guys ‘rock’ and nothing like it has ever been heard before. At least at only 27 minutes long it doesn’t outstay its welcome too much. As for me, well I’ll stick with another album called ‘Never Say Die’ by a little known band called Black Sabbath. It may not have been their finest hour but it’s still a lot better than this.
What do I think will happen?...well, the jury is out on that one. If you like fairly generic pop-punk reminiscent of many bands that were around in the 1990s or, indeed, some of the newer UK based bands that have been popping up over the last 18 months then this might well be for you. It’s not my cup tea but it’s perfectly acceptable for what it is. None of the tracks are remotely original, pretty much sounding like an identikit Blink 182 or The Ataris. Tracks such as ‘Hometown Hero’, ‘Believe It Or Not’ and ‘This One’ bounce along but none are memorable when the CD comes out of the stereo, indeed all the songs eventually seem to merge into one long piece of music being very similar in style and content. There also seems to be an over reliance on digital drums and effects throughout the album. I have always said that less is sometimes more and that is something I think The Action Plan need to consider when writing future songs. Not every tiny gap needs to be filled with reverb, echo or extra fills, let it breathe.
I can well imagine that if this type of music does it for you and you were brought up on 90s US pop-punk, or indeed too young to remember this style the first time around, then The Action Plan could deliver a fun gig of jumping around with a party atmosphere. Likewise, it would be perfect fodder for a 14-15 year olds summer party where everyone thinks these guys ‘rock’ and nothing like it has ever been heard before. At least at only 27 minutes long it doesn’t outstay its welcome too much. As for me, well I’ll stick with another album called ‘Never Say Die’ by a little known band called Black Sabbath. It may not have been their finest hour but it’s still a lot better than this.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Self-released
Album
NEVER SAY DIE
Review by Rick Tilley
RUNNING TIME:
27:25
RELEASE DATE:
10th Dec 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Hometown Hero
2) Believe it or Not
3) Had It All
4) Live Strong
5) Never Say Die
6) This One
7) So You Say
8) Suits and Ties
2) Believe it or Not
3) Had It All
4) Live Strong
5) Never Say Die
6) This One
7) So You Say
8) Suits and Ties
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
UK
"None of the tracks are remotely original, pretty much sounding like an identikit Blink 182 or The Ataris."
