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Roygbiv · 04-22-2009, 08:28 AM

ORANGE

THUNDER, LIGHTNING, STRIKE THE GO! TEAM

“One, two, three, four!”

You’ll never hear that rally cry the same way again. A great album can be one that takes tried and true preconceptions and makes them fresh again. The Go! Team do just that in Thunder, Lightning, Strike, their debut album. The secret is in the production.

Though they live up to their namesake, making energetic music with cheerleading chants, it wouldn’t make perfect sense to let the album spin at a party. Though some songs would do just fine (The Power is On, Get It Together, Junior Kickstart, Huddle Formation), the lo-fi production brings the music closer to home. The Go! Team aim to pump you up with nostalgia, channeling Saturday morning cartoons, a sunset on the beach with your friends wearing light sweaters and sinking flip-flops in the sand - channeling your youth, in other words.

To do that they use strings, banjos, turn tables, funky basses, pianos, horns, samples and standard band instruments. As you can imagine, the lyrics are not on the forefront. You can hear the chanting, but I’d pay anyone who can understand any of them. That’s because the lyrics are not the point - the delivery is. I swear they Poke-rap at one point (Bottle Rocket).

If there was one thing to criticize about the album is that it’s impossible to follow up. The Go! Team did release a second album, Proof Of Youth, but everything that was good about Thunder, Lightning, Strike was scrapped for that one. This is a once in a lifetime offering, an album with no precedent and probably no successor. You may be able to come up with a few bands and albums that sound similar, but none come close to doing what The Go! Team do so successfully here.

GET IT TOGETHER

9.3

04-22-2009, 08:28 AM	#17 (permalink)
Roygbiv marquee moon Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto, Ontario Posts: 759	ORANGE THUNDER, LIGHTNING, STRIKE THE GO! TEAM “One, two, three, four!” You’ll never hear that rally cry the same way again. A great album can be one that takes tried and true preconceptions and makes them fresh again. The Go! Team do just that in Thunder, Lightning, Strike, their debut album. The secret is in the production. Though they live up to their namesake, making energetic music with cheerleading chants, it wouldn’t make perfect sense to let the album spin at a party. Though some songs would do just fine (The Power is On, Get It Together, Junior Kickstart, Huddle Formation), the lo-fi production brings the music closer to home. The Go! Team aim to pump you up with nostalgia, channeling Saturday morning cartoons, a sunset on the beach with your friends wearing light sweaters and sinking flip-flops in the sand - channeling your youth, in other words. To do that they use strings, banjos, turn tables, funky basses, pianos, horns, samples and standard band instruments. As you can imagine, the lyrics are not on the forefront. You can hear the chanting, but I’d pay anyone who can understand any of them. That’s because the lyrics are not the point - the delivery is. I swear they Poke-rap at one point (Bottle Rocket). If there was one thing to criticize about the album is that it’s impossible to follow up. The Go! Team did release a second album, Proof Of Youth, but everything that was good about Thunder, Lightning, Strike was scrapped for that one. This is a once in a lifetime offering, an album with no precedent and probably no successor. You may be able to come up with a few bands and albums that sound similar, but none come close to doing what The Go! Team do so successfully here. GET IT TOGETHER 9.3 __________________ Roygbiv's Review Revue LATEST REVIEW SILENT SHOUT BY THE KNIFE Last edited by Roygbiv; 04-24-2009 at 10:46 AM.