Review: The Go! Team

Alright, people, here's my first music review. Let's get it underway.

THE GO! TEAM

WOOOH! YEAAAAAH! AWESOOOOOOME! GO!

What was that?

Seriously, though, here's a quick sample tune.



Yeah, it's live. I picked that version for a reason. It captures the spirit of the band, not only in the performance but also in the crowd. People are into it, and I bet they would have been even more into it if they didn't have to carry umbrellas that day as well.

This is a big band, both in size (6 core members) and sound. The music needs to be played in large venues like that with a large and active crowd.

Assuming you actually watched the video, you may have noticed an unusual blend of instruments. Here is what each member plays, according to the official website-

(I had to do some translating; it was "young people" slang)

Ninja-main vocals, sleigh bells, tambourine
Ian Parton-guitar, drums, piano, glockenspiel, harmonica
Sam Dook-guitar, drums
Chi Fukami Taylor-drums, backing vocals
Kaori Tsuchida-guitar, backing vocals, glockenspiel, recorder, piano
Jamie Bell-bass, clap machine, glockenspiel, piano

As you can tell, all of the band members are multi-talented. And even if Sam Dook can barely keep time with the drums, the point is this opens up a vast number of instrument combinations not available to most other groups. It's not often you see two drummers performing behind a band. The final dynamic is the Ninja is capable of both singing and rapping, though there isn't always a distinct lead vocal part. It's almost as though the vocals can sometimes just fade in the background or sound like another instrument. Don't take that negatively; when it's done, it's intentional and it works with the music.

Down to business.

A BOOK OF GRADES THAT CONTAINS GRADES (note: the grades are inside the book).

Instrumentalization Mentalization-In other words, the music. Incredible. Find me another band with a sound like this. Similar to Arcade Fire in setup and the unusual arrangements for a modern band, but the Go! Team captures a youthful exuberance that you'd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. They do an incredible job of illustrating emotions and the imagination with a song. The instruments provides a mood and creates an atmosphere, but it never feels as though a meaning of the song is being forced on you. The music is (usually) upbeat with a little bit of an attitude. In other words, it's a pretty good representation of the youngins today. So give them some credit; considering their sophomore album was named Proof of Youth, something tells me that's what they were aiming for.

There's not much else I can say or really need to say. This is music that can reach everybody, and should reach everybody. Pick up a copy of Thunder, Lightning, Strike for starters. Just look at the cover:



I don't know about you, but I want to buy that album just glancing at the cover. And I already own it.

INTERMISSION


Pretty sweet shirt. I might try to score one soon. Too bad it's on their website in pounds, consideirng they're British. Could be tough to get ahold of one.


You may have noticed I didn't mention they were from England at all during the rest of the review. That's because on a scale of 1-10 it doesn't matter. Music is music. People should worry more about how it sounds as opposed to where it's from.

But isn't that shirt cool? It comes in blue also.

THE FINAL GRADE: A-

The Go! Team makes good stuff. It's a shame they may never receive the fame and credit they deserve. Rather, the fame and credit I feel they deserve.

I'll leave you with a parting song



-brett