Egon
All Theory and No Action
Has Anyone Ever Told You? Records
Egon is a hard band to classify. They’ve been together for nine years, have one EP, two split 7”s and four full-length albums, including their latest, All Theory and No Action. Their guitar-driven rock is simple yet complex, catchy yet highly annoying.
Take “Blameful Ones,” where the tempo changes four different times: from the thoughtful opening guitar notes, to the more straight-ahead push of the chorus, back to the opening chords and then it retreats to the chorus, which churns right to the end of the song. These changes force the listener to pay attention to the shifts, and it makes the casual listener think more than they would if they were, say, listening to the radio. The only problem is the horrendously out-of-tune vocals of Victor Talamantes. It doesn’t even sound like he’s trying to sing in tune. He just happens to hit the notes occasionally.
Listening to All Theory and No Action, it is obvious that each member is talented. Each note, chord and beat is played with such subtle precision that it is impossible to listen without trying to figure out how they are not playing in arenas around the country. And then the vocals come in. Throughout the album, they range from tolerable to downright nauseating. The plus side is that the focus is more on the music and not so much the lyrics. The liner notes only have the lyrics to half the songs, and there are several instrumental breaks within each song that make the album much more pleasant to listen to.
Egon is a band that, despite its talent, doesn’t know when to quit. With only two songs under four minutes and four tracks topping six minutes (including “Self-Proclaimers,” an almost 10 minute marathon), All Theory and No Action is a lengthy addition to Egon’s increasing repertoire. If they can cut it down just a little bit, and stay in tune, Egon could become the arena-filling band of which they are capable.
