Action parks are at the bottom of my list of places I like to be at – don’t get me started on rollercoasters. So if you call your band Action Park, and your record You Must Be This Tall To Die, let’s just say you are way behind before the game has even begun. And that’s exlusive of the impossible to google bandname/album title combo. But I must admit having warmed up to this record rather quickly. Action Park play punkrock for fans of the mid-to-late 90s punkrock explosion. I have a lot of fond memories of that era, though admittedly, not all of my purchases of that era held up as well as I hoped. You Must Be This Tall To Die sounds like a record that will. What I appreciate about Action Park is how in each of their songs, they seem to pay tribute to a different band. For example, 24 Months sounds inspired by the Bouncing Souls, whereas Waiting For The Rain reminds me of a band like Weston. Other songs hint upon The Ergs, Sicko and Dillinger Four and others that are on the tip of my tongue.
The combination of familiarity and well executed punkrock tunes make for a very enjoyable collection of songs. Will Action Park reignite a new wave of punkrock popularity? Unlikely. But it sure is nice to hear bands from 2021 sound like this. Not bad for a record grown of necessity according to the band: “This sonic document is the product of countless hours of painstaking physical, mental, and emotional labor. The guiding force throughout what has no doubt been one of the longest, darkest, and decidedly most bizarre chapters in any of our stories… This thirty-one minutes of music was the thread we were all collectively hanging by that kept us back from the edge.”
Add to wantlist: Bandcamp
Pingback: New album: Western States || Heavy Pours » Add To Wantlist