WonderSound Records & Projects

Action Painters - Lay That Cable

Since their formation in late 2006, Action Painters have garnered an absurd amount of attention in New York and across the blogosphere due to their pitch perfect, insidiously catchy songs and high-wire live act. Their music is art pop for the masses, anthems that you can love the morning after, created by art school nerds who grew up to be (slightly less) nerdy. Recent sold out shows at NYC’s Mercury Lounge, opening slots for zeitgeist indie talents like Delta Spirit, Robbers on High Street and Tigercity, and numerous appearances in the Brooklyn DIY party scene as well as those shrines of New York Rock legitimacy–Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg–have positioned the Painters to break out big, and soon.

While Action Painters have big plans for their to-be-released debut LP (to be produced by pop wunderkind Peter Wade), they wanted to make something that captured the restless energy and spontaneous magic of their live performance. Recorded in five hours for no budget after winning studio time from Deli Magazine’s band-of-the-month contest in late 2008, “Lay That Cable” is a gritty and exhilarating glimpse into the limitless potential of this fiery young band. The sound is more raw and immediate than their 2007 debut, Chubby Dancer, with no overdubs and minimal production, but it still has melodies and grooves that will burrow into your brain, command your hips to shake and leave you wanting more.

The project was also a chance to collaborate with their NYC artist hero-friends and to work across media, continuing the art-school experimentation that has always been at the heart of the band. The entire studio session was shot on HD cameras, from which a video for the ethereal “456″ was cut, and a vintage porno-inspired promo video was hand-made by the band.

Action Painters will be touring relentlessly throughout 2009, recording more music, and breathing new life into the same old scene.

Lay That Cable available on iTunes