First Impressions: The Go! Team - Proof of Youth

The Go! Team – Proof of Youth (Sub Pop) – out September 11th

1. Grip Like a Vice – KEY TRACK.  This one’s got it all.  Bombastic vocals, nickel arcade background noises, a revolving cast of orchestral instruments, and a U2-ish bridge.  This might sound a little self serving, but first impressions are important, and “Grip Like a Vice” is an excellent one.
   
2. Doing It Right – They’ve been playing this one live for a few years now, and it's become an exuberant anthem, one that evokes feelings of bliss a la The Polyphonic Spree and mixes hi-fi music with lo-fi vocals.  Plus, it got people in our office moving.
   
3. My World - A peaceful, flowery, purely instrumental jam that wouldn’t be out of place on an Air record. 
   
4. Titanic Vandalism – Almost all of the tracks on this album would be perfect for a kung fu movie, but this one takes the cake.  Commendable use of record scratching to bridge together the melody and the beat.
   
5. Fake ID – Sounds like a garage band stuck inside a giant music box.  A lullaby for a punk baby.
   
6. Universal Speech – The music is kickin’ but it seems like the Spice Girls reunion started in this song’s verses.
   
7. Keys to the City – KEY TRACK.  Another amalgamation.  Surf rock + hip-hop stomp x J-pop melodies = ????
   
8. The Wrath of Marcie – We haven’t mentioned it yet, but Price Is Right style trumpets are all over this record.  This is the only song where they overstay their welcome.
   
9. I Never Need It Now So Much – KEY TRACK.  Kind of out of place, but kind of lovely too.  Great piano backing that sounds like something your music teacher would assign for your 10th lesson.  Suzanne Vega lethargy in the vocals (which totally works for some reason).
   
10. Flashlight Fight – If Run DMC had paired up with The Go! Team instead of Aerosmith, this would have happened.
    
11. Patricia’s Moving Picture – The kind of song you’d want to be playing during an F.A.O. Schwartz shopping spree.  A joyous closer.

    • All in all, not a tremendous departure from Thunder, Lightning, Strike, but a step in the right direction.  The vocals get more of the spotlight this go-around, and the “experimental” tracks are both daring AND delicious.

Comments

[let's dance]

i just love ninja. can never get enough of their live shows!

[goos]

this is the best band alive, i could die