The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike / 2005 Columbia / 13 Tracks / http://www.thegoteamusa.com / http://www.columbiarecords.com / Reviewed 30 October 2005

“Panther Dash” is a chaotic track, with a number of different paths beginning just as others end. The track is patchwork, with differing styles being the hallmark of The Go! Team. Unfortunately, even at only three minutes the track tends to fall into more than its fair share of repetition, meaning that listeners will likely flip off the track before it can end naturally. “Ladyflash” is a nice mishmash of seventies funk and early nineties rap; the style is still radio-friendly even if it cannot be readily pigeonholed. The harmonies that come out during “Ladyflash” will blindside listeners; not just complacent with having the vocals or guitars being the bearers of harmony, practically everything (even including the flute and drums) can bring forth sweet-sounding styles. Each of the tracks on “Thunder, Lightning, Strike” is as dense as a black hole; everything (including the fuzz that a number of tracks have) is used as another level to really deepen the acts sound.

Something that does come out as a constant during the album is a reliance on the seventies funk that really drove “Ladyflash”; “Get It Together” is another track that draws heavily on this tradition, even if the drums and scratching seem to be more “Rockit” than anything. The shouted-out lyrics for “We Just Won’t Be Defeated” work perfectly with the smoothed-out arrangements that back them; a dichotomy results that really allows some humanity to shine through. Tracks range in length almost as much as the styles captured on “Thunder, Lightning, Strike”. What is really impressive with The Go! Team is the fact that they can construct instrumental tracks (such as “Junior Kickstart”) that can even surpass their vocal tracks in terms of sheer quality.

In fact, “Friendship Update” is an example of a track that would sound perfect in place in any sixties or seventies movies, putting forth the right amount of positive sound without being offensive (the track is an instrumental Easy-Edison Lighthouse). Moving back to the days of piano reels for “Hold Yr Terror Close”, The Go! Team shows that they are equally impressive regardless of what genre they decide to pick up for the time being. Finishing up their disc with the perfect for a country movie “Everyone’s A V.I.P. To Someone”, The Go! Team has came out with one of the most innovative and tasty albums of the last five years. Pick this album up.

Top Tracks: Everyone’s A V.I.P. To Someone, Ladyflash

Rating: 8.8/10

[JMcQ]