Action Spectacular - Everything's Going To Be Ko, Really

  by Andy Snowball

published: 26 / 10 / 2002

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Review

Unfortunately, karaoke-style production and throwaway genre-hopping detract from a witty, mocking and moving album. Lyrically, the Sheffield band virtually alternate between funny pretend tough-talking, like on opener ‘You’re a Good Looking Man but for Me It’s a Full Time Job’, which is about taking advantage of impressionable young women, to sensitive (though not too serious) balladry. There are also sweet accounts of the band’s own awareness that it isn’t likely to get too far on ‘White Dove Morning’ and ‘North of Nowhere’. Sadly, the explanation of the band’s lowly destiny is all too apparent on the record: Aside from the ballads and the occasional bit of pop loveliness (‘We All Need More Sleep’) the sound is just too knowingly flippant – not trying to sound like they care too much. It is the musical equivalent of doodling in your schoolbook: scrappy and tacky as it moves from one lazy appropriation of a musical style to another. Perhaps with a bit more self belief (definitely justified) this could have been more of a contender.

Track Listing:-

1 You're a Good Looking Man…
2 Beautiful Girl
3 Ballad of the Third Rate Band
4 The Spiral
5 North of Nowhere
6 Popstars/No Alternative
7 We All Need More Sleep
8 White Dove Morning
9 The Roxy Music
10 This is Elvis
11 Good Thing
12 No, It's Never Going to Stop Raining
13 My Glorious Career
14 Sunday Night< Monday Morning