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The Act - Act I

by Janelle
January 2004

With Act I, the follow up to The Act's first full-length entitled Armageddon Hop, the band incorporates plenty of different styles into their eclectic sound. Largely comprised of upbeat songs (though there is the occasional slow crooner, namely "Finally" and the country/blues-tinged "Drowning My Tears"), and spiced up with synthesizers and keyboards, The Act offer up some pop-punk in the form of "Sneak Attack" and "Virginia Jones" - leaving one to wonder if they're mocking the pop-punk/emo craze or if they're for real - some rockabilly with "Armageddon Hop", and straight-up rock 'n' roll on "She Don't Understand". Some work, some don't.

More often than not, the songs that fall flat are ones that I think are supposed to be more comical than the rest - offerings like the moping "The Final Curtain", the big-top circus-drenched "Sadness in Her Voice", and "Ash Wednesday" with its church-like organs and choir intro. These three offerings are just plain ridiculous. I'm torn on "Self-Sufficient Guy" - overall it's a rather fun, tough rocker, but falters around the two-minute mark when the synths and annoyingly high-pitched group vocals take the stage, giving it an unpleasant '80s feel. Happily, things return to the previous rocking mode, but we're left with a bad taste after undergoing that mid-section ordeal (Now, again, I think it's all a joke, but still, it's rough, to say the least…).

In any case, the true highlight of the album comes towards the end with "Organism". This is just a great song with its stomping beat, cool synths, and catchy vocals, in a way reminiscent of The A.K.A.s. Yet, with the lyrics and the sporadic ape sounds, the music is the only similarity between the two bands. Nevertheless, one outstanding song does not a memorable album make.

www.theactsite.com

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