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Ear to the Ground: Shake Some Action!’s “Colors Exploding”

Is this Seattle quartet worthy of naming itself after the Flamin’ Groovies’ most famous power-pop hit. Listen for yourself and see….

If you name your band after the most recognizable song in the Flamin’ Groovies’ discography—if not in the entire power-pop genre—you had better own a Rickenbacker and be able to put it to use the way Mike Wilhelm played his Bigsby-equipped 360 and 450 12-string. To that end, Seattle quartet Shake Some Action! has done its homework. Their Facebook cover photo prominently displays a toaster-pickup 330 plugged into a JangleBox JB2 limited-edition Byrds tribute pedal, but more importantly, their love for jingle-jangle is better evidenced in “Colors Exploding,” the first song from their 2014 album Catch the Sun.

By the time the first chorus hits, you see that the band actually has more in common with ’90s English bands like the Stone Roses and the La’s, as well as ’80s Paisley Underground bands such as the Three O'Clock and Rain Parade. But the diamond-barbed hooks and bulletproof vocal harmonies are purely Shake Some Action! By the time James Hall has plucked his last arpeggio and sung his last soaring melody, it’s obvious this band is worthy of its name. shakesomeaction.com

<a href="https://shakesomeaction.bandcamp.com/album/catch-the-sun" _cke_saved_href="https://shakesomeaction.bandcamp.com/album/catch-the-sun">Catch The Sun by Shake Some Action!</a>