Description
In contrast to its somewhat sprawling predecessor, this fifteenth (!) Waterboys’ album is clearly a simultaneous retrenchment and transitional work for Mike Scott and company – a judiciously edited forty-something minutes of music that sounds every bit the essence of what the band’s titular leader wanted to say, and how he wanted it to sound. Those familiar with the group’s discography will hear this album as an encapsulation of everything they’ve learned to savor about this band, including Scott’s fondness for romantic poetry and classic literature. Added to the mix are electric riffs, fuzz pedal fiddle, and memorable, punky hooks.
‘Eclectic’ is the word you want to use to describe the sounds on Where the Action Is, but it feels lazy to put a label on an album that moves the listener in every way a person can be moved. But Where The Action Is really is their best for years. One of the most accessible and heartfelt efforts of Scott’s career, it will compel repeated and regular listenings immediately upon completion of the first. It’s an album that manages to simultaneously break new ground and touch base with the Waterboys’ heritage.
