Action Hero (album)
| Action Hero | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Little Nobody | ||||
| Released | July 2000 | |||
| Genre | Electronic | |||
| Length | 73 mins. | |||
| Label | IF? Records | |||
| Producer | Andrez Bergen | |||
| Little Nobody chronology | ||||
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Action Hero is the second full-length album from Melbourne's Little Nobody. This album was released on IF? Records in July, 2000 in Australia.
It was accompanied shortly later by the release of the Bare remix EP, which featured vocalist Marcella Brassett and mixes by Little Nobody, the LN Elektronische Ensemble, 8-Bit, Kandyman, Son Of Zev and Isnod. A remix by DJ Rush was not included.
Tracks of Action Hero appeared on compilations from Kiss FM Australia, Sydney label Nine09, and Volume 2 in Si Begg's infamous cut-up beat Noodles Discotheque series in 2001.
Action Hero was one of the 4 final nominees for Best Album of the Year in 3D World's 2001 Australian Dance Music Awards, of which The Avalanches were the eventual winner.
The album also featured "Cocaine Speaking", a track reputed to be Melbourne's most remixed techno track - other mixes have since arisen in Australia from Pnau, the LN Elektronische Ensemble, Digital Primate, Sameer Sengupta (aka Pocket), Kandyman, Son Of Zev, Zog, Tone Float and Cinnaman (Dirty House), as well as internationally from Jason Leach (Subhead), Si Begg, Captain Funk and Ingmar Koch (Dr. Walker/Air Liquide).
Artwork
The photography and artwork were designed by R. Klemczak. The artwork delayed the release date of the album which in line had caused the loss of a booked window display at Gaslight Records in Melbourne.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Age |    |
| The Weekend Australian | |
| 3D World | |
| Hype Magazine | (positive) Issue 75, 22 March 2001 |
"It's full of fascinating manic spirit, a refusal to simply settle down and be normal, which is, of course, brilliant. The jacking, snarly house tracks are wild. 'Apocoloppola', a lysergic, obsessive collage of film dialogue and weirdness, is stunning. And the hip hop tracks are unforgettable." Chris Johnston in The Age newspaper in 2001, writing about Action Hero.[1]
"Sample-heavy Australian record that if we were being terribly lazy we might describe as 'a bit like a more left field Avalanches, only better'. Generally quite old skool industrial in sound, this periodically throws some incongruous acid/filter house party shapes, which is a bit like Gordon Brown breaking off from talking about monetary policy to dance the can-can. And we all know how great that is." Duncan Bell, reviewing the same album for Muzik magazine in the UK, in 2001.[2]
"A playful sensibility prevails in the music - the 15 tracks here oscillating between wall-of-sound big beat ('Nobody Plays Guitar') and an abrasive minimalism ('Track 28') reminiscent of Autechre, between dubby ambience and classic acid house. This sonic catholicism can occasionally prove distracting but, in Bergen's defence, he takes a rough-hewn approach to the collision (and collusion) of sounds that prevents this collection from lapsing into the merely tasteful or clever." Shane Donaldson, reviewing the album for The Weekend Australian newspaper, in 2001.[3]
Track listing
- "Apocoloppola"
- "HPF Sourced"
- "Bare (feat. Marcella)"
- "Devolution Maybe?"
- "IF? Is Good (live)"
- "Track 28"
- "Tantalizing Tarantula"
- "Alright Already (Enough Is Enough Mix)"
- "Cocaine Speaking (Little Nobody's Mind-Bending Remix)"
- "Jack Your Kitsch Up"
- "A Zed & Two Rorts (live)"
- "Acid Hoe-Down"
- "Nobody Plays Guitar"
- "The Kinky Kabukist"
- "Profondo Rosso Finito"
Personnel
- Andrez Bergen – Samples, Composition, Engineering
- Francois Tetaz – Engineering, Mastering
- Jeff Willis – Composition + Samples (Tracks 2, 9 + 13)
- Marcella Brassett – Vocals (Track 3)
- Elenor Rayner – Keyboards + Samples (Tracks 6, 7 + 12)
- Honeysmack + Biz-E + High Pass Filter – Additional samples