Pryor Stroud: “Action” is the latest single from the French electronic duo Cassius, and the track is an untempered blast of euphoria that bubbles-up with funk-house bass and an energetic, I-know-how-to-weaponize-my-sexuality vocal delivered by Cat Power’s Chan Marshall. Throughout its duration, various sonic aesthetics and lyrical modes, ranging from Mike D’s chant-rap verse to Marshall’s soulful, party-girl lilt, seem to collide and shove each other around, creating a kind of surrealist club-labyrinth filled with different rooms and passageways that all seem to have their own distinct musical dicta. [8/10]
Emmanuel Elone: There’s just so much wrong with this song that’s a surprise that Cassius even released it. The funky dance beat, though decent, repeats itself so often and with such little variation that it becomes stale within the first minute. Even the vocals are annoying, and make “Action” sound like a parody of itself. However, the worst thing about this song is its lack of instrumentation. Where’s the groovy bass line? Where’s the percussion? Both are nonexistent, and the end result is a lot of generic, colorless fluff without even a decent groove or punchy kick drum to hold onto. “Action” is junk food that tastes terrible, still leaves you hungry, and only provides empty calories that you’ll regret the moment you finish it. [2/10]
Chris Ingalls: An electronic dance music duo teaming up with Cat Power and Mike D? Stranger things have happened, but I would definitely file this under “Weird Musical Collaborations of 2016.” If you remove your preconceived notions of the participants (particularly indie folk songstress Cat Power), a great time can be had by all. Cassius bring the party with a tropical funk groove that’s hard to resist, and Cat Power’s vocals are compelling and perfectly suited. Mike D’s contributions seem terribly limited, and I came away from the song disappointed that he didn’t have a bigger part. Still, a killer tune. [8/10]
John Bergstrom: Cassius have had a long and spotty career, and “Action” falls on the spotty side. The groove is okay, the tropical vibe is breezy, but something is off. The problem isn’t so much that the track sounds like someone got a mail-order “build your own party anthem” kit and didn’t quite finish putting it together. It’s that Mike D sounds more like Adam Sandler than Mike D. [5/10]
Chad Miller: Cool production and vocals. There’s so little substance to the song though. The whole “Don’t you. . .” riff is pretty cool at first, but it’s grows more and more wearisome as you realize how much the song relies on it. [6/10]
Steve Horowitz: This is one boring song. Sure, it’s meant for the dance floor, but the beats are weak. The animated video has some fun moments, but even that gets tedious. [3/10]
SCORE: 5.33