Action Action

The Faint was only the first to tap into nascent new-wave nostalgia. Action Action is another band that's wandered away from the whole emo/screamo/punk-pop thing and harked back twenty years for its sound. Of course, it's not exactly a new phenomenon for singer-guitarist Mark Thomas Kluepfel. A couple years ago, he headed the Reunion Show, who hailed from emo hotbed Long Island (Taking Back Sunday, Brand New) but featured a sound more reminiscent of the Cars or early Elvis Costello. When that fell apart, Kluepfel hooked up with Count the Stars' former guitarist and bassist to form Action Action. The band's 2005 debut, Don't Cut Your Fabric to This Year's Fashion, delivers a bit of spiky guitar, but even more suggestive is the variety of keyboards that demonstrate the band's unmistakable love of the Cure, Depeche Mode and Psychedelic Furs. Kluepfel even captures the music's insistent gloom — without losing sight of a winning hook.