On its latest album The Action Design dips into the previously used toy box of stuff employed by other teenybopper bands like Dance Hall Crashers, Bloc Party and Tsunami Bomb...unsurprising since Emily Whitehurst used to sing for TB. Certainly not unique, Into a Sound is not something you haven’t heard already on commercial radio in myriad formulae. This is not to say that The Action Design is untalented. For one thing, Whitehurst has a strong voice, a powerful alto that pushes the tunes along, sometimes giving a bit of life to a hackneyed riff here and there; basically straight-ahead, pop-rock, with an upbeat ambience. For another, while the music’s freshness may fade, there are still well-crafted, intensely personal lyrics that pull no punches with Whitehurst baring her soul, a rare thing in this age of phoniness. Hopefully, The Action Design will avoid the ignominious curse of most strong, charismatic, woman-led bands where it becomes all about her and prove that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.
--Kent Manthie
