Proof of Youth

The Go! Team

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2007)
• Original Release Date: September 10, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sub Pop
• ASIN: B000UE64QA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,722 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

Is it possible to sound like you're having more fun than the Go! Team? Probably not, going on Proof of Youth, the second album from Brighton, England's brightest pop experimentalists. As on its predecessor, 2004's Thunder, Lightning, Strike, the eleven songs on Proof of Youth burst out your speakers like tangy pop bubblegum, but on closer inspection suggest a broader, braver web of influences; many bands can remind you of the chirpy soul singalongs of the Jackson 5, the metallic guitar clang of Sonic Youth, or the cut-and-paste sonic collages of Public Enemy's Bomb Squad, but only one can do it in a single song. "Grip Like a Vice" and "Titanic Vandalism" prove the Go! Team template is present and correct, joyful melanges of car-chase horns, double dutch vocals, melodic guitar, and crowd-hyping rapping from MC/cheerleader Ninja. But there's more here than formula. "My World" is a simple, pretty interlude of acoustic guitar, shaker, and synthesiser straight from some Look Around You-style 1980s science show, "I Never Needed It Now So Much" is a naïve pop song featuring vocals from Solex, and the glorious "Flashlight Fight" is a Public Enemy pastiche that actually features Chuck D. Skill. --Louis Pattison

Product Description

England's Go! Team play a fast and furious mix of 60s girl groups, 70s car chase TV themes, 80s lady MCs, and 90s guitar squalor. Their 2005 debut, "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" was critically lauded for its cheerleader anthems, syrupy string samples, and mad-as-a-hatter horn arrangements. This release bombs melodies into the stone age with its needle-in-the-red anti-production approach. It lurches from bubblegum pop to white noise in a heartbeat. Contributors include Chuck D, the original Double Dutch Divas, Rapper's Delight Club, Marina from Bonde Do Role, Solex, and Washington, DC's Frederick Douglas All Star Cheer Team.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doing it right, September 10, 2007

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If the Go! Team's debut "Thunder Lightning Strike!" was a cheerleading squad on acid, then their second is the same squad taking over a club.

And "Proof of Youth" features this deliciously raucous, wild-sounding Brighton band splashing new sounds over their music. The quieter songs don't quite fit their sound as well, but fortunately most of the album is rollicking colourful rock'n'roll and quirky rap-pop, still fresh and fun.

"The blast from the past, superb in every word/Soupest female rapper, yes the best you heard... To you!/So what you wanna do?" It's a bit self-absorbed, but who cares? The first song -- and lead single -- is a frenetically-drummed, funky dance tune with their trademarked acid-funk-cheerleading-rock style. It'll make you dance, whether you like it or not.

It also sets the tone for the album, with loads of rollicking indiepop full of emphatic raps you can barely make out. Lots of blaring horns, schizophrenic synth, shimmering melodica, tinkly edges, wild riffs and bouncy, expansive melodies that are dizzying to listen to. The driving rock and powerpop hurtle you toward the finish line, the quirky, playful "Patricia's Moving Picture."

But the Go! Team also tries out some quieter songs -- "I Never Needed It Now So Much" is a straightforward indiepop tune with some wonky keyboard. And "My World" is a bit of a shock, with just a layer of keyboard over an acoustic instrumental. It's a letdown when it starts, and a shock when it switches over to the jumbled festival sound of "Titanic Vandalism."

Basically the Go! Team have much the same sound as before -- rap-funk-psychrock-pop as played by alien cheerleaders, and played with the same kind of wild enthusiasm. And to keep listeners astounded, "Proof of Life" just tries a few new things, polishes the edges, and tries for a more organic sound with fewer samples.

Okay, I didn't really like the quiet songs -- they didn't sound like the Go! Team, and didn't possess that volcanic energy. But all the other songs show why I adore this band: playfully colourful funky-pop, or wild, driving indie-rock/rap. The instrumentation is a dense tangle of roiling electric guitars, gentle acoustics, crazy smashing drums, xylophone chimes, a brassy array of trumpets, and waves and swooshes of colourful synth. Occasionally you can even hear a harmonica in there.

And the samples? They're still there, but they're more interwoven into the melodies -- you can hear some sirens somewhere in the mix, alongside Ninja's powerful raps, Solex's pop tune, Kaori Tsuchida's girlish chants ("DO it! DO it! ALL RIGHT!") and Chuck D in the penultimate track. Bless him, his raps blend seamlessly into the storm of crazy brass'n'riffs.

"Proof of Life" could have benefited by snipping a couple of songs, but the resulting sophomore album is still a gloriously energetic, joyous mishmash of styles and sounds. All right, do it all right!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Go! Team play excellent noise rock/rap in their follow-up album, September 23, 2007

By	lain4ever "And I'll form the head!" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This is probably my favorite album of the year. It's hard to find such an awesome band that combines noise distorted guitars with rap, cheerleading and some wicked horn parts. This album is especially tasty, though, with a sugar-coated 70's TV show vibe combined with the hard rock of the 90's and cool raps.
The Go! Team is great at playing cool rhythms within four beat time signatures. However, I especially liked the strong downbeat feel of the album, in comparison to "Thunder, Lightning, Strike". This is a more hip-hop oriented album, with awesome rhymes. Chuck D. from Public Enemy even makes a great cameo, turning the song "Flashlight Fight" into a cool hard-core activist feel.
I like everything in this album. The songs remind me of the best parts of the "Parappa the Rapper" video game on the Playstation. The raps, the horns and the harmonicas combine to make the best rock/rap/cheerleader album that I've ever heard. Why hasn't anyone else made a great album like this?

2.0 out of 5 stars One-hit wonders, November 19, 2009

By	merzbow - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Would have a been a far better album with 11 different versions of their incredible single "Grip Like a Vice" instead of what they've given us - the pop song of the decade, with 10 pieces of filler.