Chicago-based pop-punkers Action/Adventure are back with their latest EP, Pulling Focus, via Pure Noise Records. Reminiscent of an early Knuckle Puck, the band shines with this EP, bringing the true spirit of pop-punk back to the forefront.

Opening with the minute-long “Barricades,” it comes with a video that actually went viral on TikTok. Every member of the band, with their respective instruments, stares directly into the camera, asking the viewer if they’d listen to their music if they all weren’t BIPOC. As an entirely BIPOC band in a white-dominated genre, the quintet struggles to find acceptance — but they move forward and create bangers, anyway.

As frontman Blake Evaristo reminders the viewer they can’t change how they look or who they are, the scene erupts, drums flying all over and guitars soaring. They all come back to the camera holding up signs with derogatory quotes they’ve been told over the years regarding their race or ethnicity. The track ends with a brief instrumental before the band departs, unworried about what people think of them anymore. The track is so enticing you’ll wish there were three more minutes of it.

“Tuck Everlasting” only takes a handful of seconds to transform into a full-fledged pop-punk sizzler, beaming with intricate guitars. After spending a full year of his life coming to terms with the mundanity of it, Evaristo is ready to take action. He’s let others who use the cliché “those best years are behind us” get to him, and now, he’s attempting to unearth the vigor of his childhood. In the bridge, the whole band repeats that cliché to enrage him even more. However, the track ends happily, as Evaristo echoes his previous sentiments and promises to move forward with more ambition and better outlook.

The closer and title track, “Pulling Focus,” kicks off with a reflective guitar that guides Evaristo look in retrospect and realize how he doesn’t react well with change. Once he reveals he loves to do the same things over and over again because he’s not able to manage how his own life ends up, the previously soft ground shakes with fervor via explosive guitars and drums. Evaristo asks his friend to keep tabs on him as he feels himself struggling to get what he wants out of life and starting to sink into a pit of despair. The bridge bursts with flavor, offering lush sets of guitars and drums, before Evaristo calms to a whisper to fade out the track, ending the album on a sweet note.

Of the EP, Evaristo shares: “When writing Pulling Focus we went in with the notion that this could be the last EP before slowing down considerably. It came from a place of exhaustion and frustration after dealing with the ups and downs of being in a band at this point in our adult lives. Getting the opportunity to release this with Pure Noise is a dream for us. It’s a testament to the sacrifices and hard work we’ve all put in over the last 6 years as a band. We’re all excited to share this ep and hope fans old and new can enjoy these songs that we all truly believe in and love.”

Drawing inspiration from the likes of Fall Out Boy, Senses Fail and Four Year Strong, Action/Adventure is deservingly moving up in the never-boring pop-punk genre. Even if they decide to slow down their project, this EP will be a reminder they deserve to be here — and there’s no way they’re ever leaving the limelight now.

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