Action Beat – Beatings

The conceptual maelstrom that is this ever-evolving noise collective from Bletchley in England has to be one of the standard-bearers for DIY ethics in the UK right now. Having steadily built their project up from its meagre beginnings outside Milton Keynes, these guys now spend four months at a time on the road. A new relationship with Truth Cult (and its benefactors at Southern Records) has exposed Action Beat to a much wider audience and they seem to be reaping the rewards.

Given the hellish furore often taking place, production on this album is remarkably strong and crisp. Beatings skilfully combines some of Sonic Youth's more rabid moments with the ugly clatter of early 90s Chicago noise. It is distinctly uncompromising and, as such, potentially very divisive. There are no singles. There are no dancefloor hits. Instead there are ten slices of cathartic, convulsive anti-rock that thoroughly deserves at least 36 minutes of your time. [Chris Cusack]