*** Actionslacks

THE SCENE'S OUT OF SIGHT

(Self-Starter Foundation)

Among the seemingly endless entries in the emo-core sweepstakes, Actionslacks run a pretty good game. The Berkeley quartet have punchy melodies, appropriately tense guitars, and a crack drummer. But the most refreshing thing about the band's third album appears in the fourth song, the slow and luminous "Perfect G," a standard emo-pop number in almost every respect except for the lyrics, which warmly deal with being a little older and wiser than the average backpack-toting punk kid. Actionslacks deliver two more numbers that do much the same: "Shining Jewels," with its velvet strains of Latin-tinged piano, and the wistful "Joan of Arc." Then it's back to emo-pop-as-usual, but singer/guitarist Tim Scanlon has shown he can lead the scene into new and rewarding territory, and that's a major breakthrough.

Lois Maffeo