The Go! Team – Proof Of Youth

Stephen Lovelady

Staring blankly at the fresh Microsoft Word document intended for my journalistic debut in the Warwick Boar, my mind wandered to the same thought that every Fresher will muse upon at some stage during their first year at university. At what point does borrowing for creative inspiration become plagiarism? It’s an important distinction to make, and having convinced myself that quickly flicking open the NME to read their opinion of The Go! Team’s second album, ‘Proof of Youth’, was perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the powers that be, I came across the following sentence: “Unsurprisingly, the most thrilling moments are the most genre-schizo.“ I feel it’s important to be honest at this point. I have absolutely no idea what that means. Yet, for some reason, that feeling of bafflement gave way to one of comfort. I was at odds with the NME. I’m pretty sure I heard on the news that this was the currently the cool thing to be. I’m anti-anti-establishment. But why should this matter to me, or indeed, anyone else? Are we now so convinced by style that we ignore substance? As a huge fan of The Go! Team’s acclaimed first album, ‘Thunder, Lightning, Strike’, it was with this question in mind I ventured to the Camden Electric Ballroom to hear their new material. And it was just as I had remembered it. Pure pop brilliance. People of all ages, dancing around like small children high on blue Smarties, responding to the warmth and sincerity of the assembled multi-talented musicians. It’s unfortunate that they’re never going to be classed as a “cool” group, and that’s probably the reason, as Ninja, the lead in the band, put it, “you’re not likely to have heard of us before”.

The pick of their new songs are the instantly recognisable Grip Like a Vice, the Chuck D inspired Flashlight Fight and the effervescent The Wrath of Marcie, but much like their debut album, every tune will create a connection and get your feet tapping along with the bouncy rhythm and lively tempo. They also develop a more restrained sound than we’ve seen before on My World and I Never Needed It Now So Much, which adds a new dimension to their live performances where you can take a break to simply enjoy the craft and talent of the individual members of the band (six in total). In summary, it’s as much fun as you’re likely to have had since you first discovered the sheer brilliance of bouncy castles as a five year old. If there was any justice in the musical world, they’d be at number one in the charts every week due to their hugely wide-ranging appeal, but, till such time, you’ll have to make do with seeing them at Warwick on Friday Week 1 as part of the NME Freshers Tour. Just leave your musical ego at the front door.

This review first appeared in Issue 1 of the Warwick Boar

: 09 Oct 2007 15:57 |  Tags: Album Boar Music Review Stephen Lovelady The Go Team |  Comments (3) |  Report a problem