No Action – Payday b/w Tiger Hunt EP

Adelaide’s band No Action released this single in September 2019. It is their first recorded output since their nine-track, self-titled debut, which was released two years earlier via the great UK-based emo punk label strictly no capital letters.

I remember hearing the band for the first time on one of those obscure emo blogs when they released the LP, which was compared to the likes of The Hated, Boys Life, and Evergreen. No Action really surprised me, though, by sending me their 2019 single all the way from the land down under.

The highlight here is “Payday”, a tightly-wound three-minute punk-y indie rock banger with a bit of Hot Snakes twang. I also know that these guys must be huge Hüsker Dü fans, and that shines through all the tracks they’ve released so far. The B-Side’s “Tiger Hunt” switches gears and brings us chiming guitars and catchy melodies in a true power pop fashion. The song is definitely not my cup of tea and really different from the stuff you’ll usually see reviewed on DIY Conspiracy. I like “Payday” though, and I’d say the whole seven-inch is a pretty decent listen if you’re into late ‘90s lo-fi indie emo stuff.

At the end of the day, No Action seem to be a bunch of friendly guys having a great time being in a band together, playing the music they like. The digital release on Bandcamp also comes up with a bonus track called “Steep Bleaks”, and at the time of this writing, they’ve released a new album with covers of artists as diverse as Elvis Costello, the Ramones, Wire, P.F. Sloan, Negative Approach, Stereolab, and more.