The Action - TV's On The Blink

'The Action', reported to be the first Punk band in Ottawa, Canada. A five man band formed in April 1977, with this posting a 12" EP released in 1978. They were inspired by the UK punk scene which you can clearly hear on their classic a-side 'TV's On The Blink'. This for me is definitely a 24 carat punk song, simple catchy guitar riff, the "oi' start, and lyrics all about one of the bands TV's broken down, brilliant.

They recorded this EP on stage live, which you can hear in a few of the other tracks. This was another one donated by 'Bruno from Brazil' (are there any other Bruno's who visit ASFM?) so I haven't got the cover (if anyone has can they send me a scan) but the description from their own web site was that it was a die cast black and white sleeve with 'Punk' emblazoned across it, follow the link to find out more about 'The Action'.
Although 'TV's on the Blink' is the standout track, theres a decent cover of 'The Velvet Underground's, I'm Waiting for My Man'. The second track 'Downtown Boys' is OK, but for me, the next best track is 'Do The Strangle', I love it. But as usual I'll leave it to you, leave a comment and tell ASFM what you think of the Action.

Band: The Action
Label: Montreco
Year: 1978
Tracks:
1. TV's On The Blink
2. Downtown Boys
3. I'm Waiting For My Man
4. Do The Strangle

Ripped from glorious scratched vinyl:

The Touques - The Touques EP

I was recently contacted by "The Touques" (pronounced the Two-ks) and asked whether I would listen to their new EP.

Guess what? I did and I love it, its been playing non-stop since I got it.

The Touques are from Reno, Nevada, they've been around since 2005 and you can find more about them here and at their myspace site (where you can try these songs out, before downloading).

The first track "4" is the best of the pick and the one that has been buzzing around my head ever since I heard it. There's a blend of post-punk, surf and pop that delivers a dark sound surrounded with guitar riffs, excellent harmonies, hand clapping, well everything actually.

"Roy Stampler" follows with a catchy guitar riff, and then just as you start to tap your feet to it, it changes into a ripping post-punk sound, and it just keeps changing, you gotta love this.

Third up is "White Elephant" a stange instrumental, with an excellent surf riff throughout

Two more tracks "HRPM" and "Goodbye Monsieur" with that now familiar "Touques" sound, but enough of me rambling on, go on to their mysapce site, try them out and if you like them then you can download all five tracks here.

If you like the Touques you can also buy thier earlier material at the same link above.

So what do you think of the Touques?, leave a comment and let everyone know.