Action Friend

If ever there was a band that truly defies genre, Action Friend would be named victorious. The most fitting description I can conjure up is Mike Patton meets Miles Davis meets Frank Zappa. You might be wondering how that's even possible. Well, I am too, friends, I am too. But as hard as it is for my brain to comprehend how strange Action Friend is, I find many sections of my brain (particularly my temporal lobe) appreciating and even grooving to it.

Every song on their myspace is primarily a mash-up of styles, instruments, and noise. This is part of the reason why their music is refreshing to me -- they still seem to view music as an unabashed form of expression, even if it's more abstract than a Picasso. The fact that what they're expressing seems to change multiple times within the minute just makes it more fun. Songs often recall the frenetic, chaotic-yet-controlled drumming of Zach Hill of Hella, often with loud percussive climaxes leaving you wondering what could possibly come next. Jumping from thrash metal to jingly, country-esque guitar in an instant? Why not. A song containing ska, surf-guitar, and bossa nova with interspersed super-heavy industrial jams is a walk in the park for these guys. And pulling that off successfully is no easy feat. What makes it alright for these guys to play musical chairs with musical genres is the fact that they're ostensibly good at every one they attempt. This music is coming from a place that seems authentic rather than gimmicky and contrived. Even in the middle of "Lotion Squirts for Candy Bars" in the midst of any music teacher's nightmare where members seemingly regress back to neanderthals in order to be as arrhythmic as possible, acceptable dischord makes the experience not messy and noisy, but interestingly chaotic.

In Action Friend, I've found a band both that challenges my musical sensibilities and forces me to expand upon them. And really, I think that's how musical progress is made, even if it doesn't catch the ears of the masses, or rather, inflicts panoramic and otogenic pain upon them. It may not make for easy listening, and I definitely wouldn't put it on to relax, but Action Friend indeed fills a niche that is sorely lacking in contenders today.

6/7

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