The Action Suits

Cancer Father [7-inch] (1996)

Joe Pelone

I took a chance on the Action Suits based solely on the fact that underground comics maestro Peter Bagge plays drums in the band. As the creative force behind Hate, Apocalypse Nerd, Other Lives and a bunch of other underground comics, Bagge has always shown a knack for examining people. Dude's also got interesting, if slightly unreliable taste that ranges from the Hollies to B*Witched. Plus, again, Hate is one of the great comics of all time. Respect.

On presentation alone, Cancer Father is a pretty cool 7" with a limited run of 2,500 copies. Bagge put together a nifty wraparound cover. The vinyl is translucent blue (This is what people mean by Coke bottle blue, right?) with cool sketches for labels. Oh yeah, and there's music on it too. The Action Suits deal in catchy, sloppy '90s indie rock. Think Pavement, Sebadoh or Built to Spill without the awesome guitar pyrotechnics. "Cancer Father" gives the band a chance to show off their harmonizing, while "Visualize Ballard" satirizes organized religion, because, seriously, what's up with all that.