Anyone who’s been following Action Group over the last few months will already know that their star is on the rise. Having developed and fine-tuned their live sound, they then proceeded to play a blistering set at this year’s Spectrum Festival, before waltzing to victory at the Democrazy unsigned bands competition. Even if you already know all of this, however, Greed will still come as a surprise. Action Group sound fresher, brighter, cleaner and (dare I say it) poppier than ever before, all of which is undoubtedly a good thing. Packed with a variety of alt-rock tunes, from Beach Boys-influenced melodies to Beck-like musical doodlings, Greed proves to be just as exciting as the other six deadly sins.
‘Let’s Face It’ and ‘Monkey On My Back’ are perfect examples of their new direction, bass-driven and surprisingly effervescent, if still pleasantly rough around the edges. It’s on the likes of ‘Salvage Song’ and ‘Look At That Ass’ that their true talents shine through, though, as they push the boundaries with new-found confidence, and come out sounding like Beck’s backing band fronted by the ghost of Kurt Cobain. Admittedly there are a few weaker songs, but when things click they truly begin to shine, and there are least eight outstanding tracks on what is an overlong album to start with. Throw in the breezy early-Nineties riffage of ‘Deliverance’ – nothing to do with the film, or squealing pigs, thankfully – and the gloriously layered chorus of ‘Continent’, and Greed really starts to sit up and beg for our attention. It’s clear that the last few months have only marked the beginning of their rising star. Scotland may just have found a new set of lo-fi action heroes.