The Go! Team

Thunder, Lightning, Strike, the debut album by UK’s The Go! Team is a reviewer’s nightmare – though not in a bad way. This album is so uniquely original it’s virtually impossible to describe without the reader scratching his or her head in confusion.

Let’s get the particulars out of the way first. This album was one of the most buzzed about releases coming out of England in ’04, but because of stricter copyright laws pertaining to sampled music on the disc, it took until late 2005 to hit stateside. So while you’re hipster friend probably was raving about his import copy, most people are just getting to hear it for the first time now. TLS might actually be one of the only albums to have made Top Ten lists two years in a row and justly so.

Now for the music itself - what I can tell you is, this is one of those albums you really have to listen to for yourself. I don’t think anyone’s review can truly put into words what this sounds like. I started to think about it like the old toy box we had growing up as a way of describing it. There’s a little bit of everything in there - Barbie dolls, Matchbox cars, G.I. Joe’s, Legos etc. This album is the same way - there’s cheerleading chants, old soul samples, disco backbeat, an MC rapping, rock guitars, scratching - it has just about everything and the kitchen sink. Intrigued yet? You should be. Listening to it I think can best be equated to being at the coolest all-night dance party. It has the perfect ebb and flow that finds you in a sweaty mess by the end but fully satisfied.

For more info see: thegoteam.co.uk