Another review from the Northeastern Performer for Dead Like Tan. Read the whole magazine online HERE.
"A jazz girl meets an electronic boy. They create something that is neither jazz nor electronic," is what reads on Action Camp's MySpace, but despite what they say, Action Camp's sound is part jazz, part electronic, and part everything else. It's obvious that a lot of thought went into making this record, as each song delves into various genres.
The band, comprised of Maura Jacob and Bengt Alexsander, decided to organize the tracks in such a way that each song sound like it's from a different record completely. They chose to begin and end the CD with "Tonight" and "Prayer," respectively, which both start slow and have a cinematic ending.
Though the disc's subject matter is about relationships and love, it does not become repetitive. On "Hari," the mysterious arrangement and vocals are layered with whispers, allowing Jacob to showcase her vocal ability. Alexsander sings too, but mostly to create playful chords to accentuate the song. "Please" describes a one-night stand, while Jacob takes control over the situation with the lyrics, "All you've got is nothing on me / All you know is we all get lonely."
Action Camp is a lot of things but mostly it is a portfolio of the different tastes and explorations of the duo. (Haley Navarro)
Action Camp is still on a break, currently separated by a few states. If all works out we'll start playing shows in early January in Pittsburgh followed by a tour to the west.
Here is a great little review of "Dead Like Tan" from the Noise. Just when we leave Boston, someone finally gets us. C'est la vie.
ACTION CAMP - DEAD LIKE TAN (2008) Imagine a whole album steeped in the ethos that makes the song “Creep” by Radiohead work so well. A sludgy reliance on proportioned slowness, and melodic sense with plenty of basic chord progressions. Female vocals waft like ground fog above an ancient forest floor. A bizarre sense of darker monster surf music slithers in the eardrums as well. Some really nasty, groovy country fuzz tone songs hit you hard. Folk pop sensibility alters the course here and there. This is a very listenable album, and as I go for the overall impression of the music these days instead of poring over the lyrics for deeper meanings, I assume the title is apropos in many respects. Action Camp sort of rocks in the way one doesn’t expect, you can tell they’ve listened a lot to some of the best, and distilled it in their own unique style. A good listen. (Mike Loce)
Second episode of our video podcast is up. Action Camp has a going away party as Maura gets ready to move to Pittsburgh, with Bengt following soon after. Maura says her goodbyes to the city, and the band shares their newest bonding experience.
Here is the first official episode of our video podcast shot at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. I'm sure you've said to yourself on many an occasion "Action Camp writes great music, but I wonder what they are like in person". Well today is your day. We'll try to post a video once a month or so (schedules permitting).
Click your link below and see us discuss interesting topics like: disappointment, The Dark Knight, being high all the time, and calling people retarded.
Thursday we are heading to Pittsburgh for our third year in a row. Each time gets bigger and better. Plans include:
- a gig Friday night at Howlers with Memphis Mike - recording Live at Howlers Vol. 2 - shooting a new music video - visiting the R and R Hall of Fame in Cleveland
On top of all this we are starting a video podcast beginning with "Action Camp goes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Bengt's first time in jail". Good times ahead kids, good times.
Secondly, If you haven't gotten the memo yet, we are moving to Pittsburgh in August. We will be playing our LAST SHOW EVER in Boston August 15th at the Abbey Lounge in Somerville. Truth be told, we'll probably come back at some point but it won't be anytime soon.
Finally, have you seen the FAQ page? It's hilarious. Ever wonder why we are called Action Camp? Bet you didn't know it has to do with fucking. Go check it out.
We are looking for reviews, mentions, and general kind words from the digital masses. If you like us enough to give us a few words, shoot us an email at actioncamp@gmail.com and we'll send you some tracks.
For the non-blogging folk, we would appreciate comments anywhere else on the web. We've got videos up on youtube, and a cd on several sites and i-tunes.
The littlest bit helps us and raises our spirits, for which we are eternally grateful.
The show at the Q in Worcester tomorrow is canceled. Apparently they lost their entertainment license and failed to tell us. We'll try to grab another show in Central MA if we can.
Our companion record to "Dead Like Tan" is out now. Download it for FREE in the lower right hand corner of this site. If you flip through the "music" page you'll find some notes on each song and why we chose them.
"Cover Like Tan" 1 Gouge Away (The Pixies) 2 Gone Daddy Gone (Violent Femmes) 3 Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode) 4 Way I Feel Inside (The Zombies) 5 Ride On Shooting Star (The Pillows) 6 I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor) 7 Go With the Flow (Queens of the Stone Age) 8 Too Young to Fall in Love (Motley Crue) 9 I Will Run After You (Frank Black)
Just thought I'd pass a quick note onto you who haven't bought our new record yet. It's up on I-Tunes! Crazy Right?! So if you don't want the whole thing go search for "Action Camp" or click here and grab a few tracks. We'd surely appreciate it. If you already own it, a favorable review on the 'Tunes would help us out a lot as well.
If you'd still like to purchase a hard copy (with all those fancy cd extras we put on there) click on the link in the lower right hand corner here, or head over to the "store" page. How easy is that?
Secondly, I'm proud to say I was an early adopter of the Zune. It is Microsoft's very underrated alternative to the I-Pod for those who don't know. I don't know any one else who owns one so I would like to extend an offer to those of you who do. Bring your Zune to a show and I'll be happy to use that wicked wireless sharing function to GIVE you our record. Sweet deal eh?
Lastly, I'm happy to report that we are hard at work in the studio recording the companion to the Dead Like Tan LP. It's called "Cover Like Tan" and it's 9 cover songs we've played live over these past couple of years. If all goes as planned, we'll be releasing it free on our website on May 31st. That's a little over a week away so keep an eye out for it.
Some notable tracks include: I Will Survive, Go With the Flow, and Too Young to Fall in Love (yes, the Motley Crue song!)
Have you ever driven an hour and 1/2 north into an adjoining state only to find no one is at your show and that you aren't going to play because everyone wants to go home early? Yeah, neither have we.
In more depressing news, our drummer and songwriting partner to be Cameron has sadly left Massachusetts for the duration of the summer. We may or may not see him on the other side of August, but as it looks now Action Camp is back to a duo.
The pressed version of the record contains additional multimedia data on the disc. Specifically there is a "Best I Can Do" video, A radio promo, and our Live EP in mp3 format. As a result, on certain cd players track 1 may show up as 12:40 of data, so skipping to track 2 will begin the record as normal.
We would also like to note how the disc will appear on your computer (as this is probably the most common format it will be heard in).
If you have a mac: It will show up as two different discs on your desktop. One will be audio which will play in I-tunes, while the other will be the data mentioned above.
If you have a pc: It will show up as a data disc, but opening the cd drive in any media player will play the audio.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at: actioncamp@gmail.com
