*** Actionslacks

ONE WORD

(The Arena Rock Recording Co.)

You can count on one hand the number of rock critics who've parlayed their obsessions into life in bands -- among them former New York Rocker scribe Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo) and Big Takeover honcho Jack Rabid (Springhouse). Hard to say which came first -- band or 'zine -- for Tim Scanlin, vocalist/guitarist for Actionslacks and publisher of San Francisco's tasty Snackcake, but One Word is one promising disc. This handcrafted gem boasts delicious juxtapositions of power-trio noise pop, genteel guest cello, violin and piano, incidental home tapings, and Scanlin's writerly talents. He's incisive and sassy on "Self-conscious Spiel" ("We have so much cred/It's all I can do to get out of bed") and reflective on "Gentry" ("It's not strength, grace or poise/It's just melancholy noise"). With able backing from drummer Marty Kelly and bassist/vocalist Mark Wilson, Scanlin's made an album that's as meaningfully fun (hidden cover of the Minutemen's "This Ain't No Picnic") as it is funny (indie anthem "Hate L.A.") and as poignant (the Paul Westerberg-like "My 83") as it is powerful.

-- Mark Woodlief

(Actionslacks join Tugboat Annie, Cherry 2000, and the Dynamic Truths upstairs at the Middle East this Saturday, September 5. Call 864-EAST.)