Record Review: The Go! Team - Proof of Youth

September 4, 2007 by Ben  Send to a Friend

Rating system
0 stars - Complete and utter garbage
1 star - Best just not to ever press play, save your ears for another day
2 stars - Not completely atrocious, but one you’ll probably forget about as soon as it’s over
3 stars - Good, but not great, likely with some excellent songs and others you’ll skip right through
4 stars - Damn good album, one you’ll definitely want to enjoy again and again
5 stars - Instant Classic

The Go! Team - Proof of Youth
4.5 stars

The Go! Team’s Thunder, Lightning, Strike! was a breath of fresh air in a relatively stagnant indie pop scene when the record dropped back in 2004. Early adopters and importers were rewarded with superior samples (which were removed from the US release due to licensing issues) and a shrill, 70’s-inspired, super-hero sound. The record is just one of those masterpieces begging to be played out in vinyl. The Brighton six-piece, led by the cheerleading and exuberant Ninja, is a throwback to an era that many modern-day hipsters never got the pleasure of experiencing.

Enter Proof of Youth. 2007 seems to be the year of the lame-duck sophomore follow-up, and like its predecessor, Proof of Youth swoops in, red cape and all, to save indie-kind from a shitstorm of second records that merely sound second-rate.

The obvious change veterans of the first record will recognize is the presence of Ninja’s voice. No longer are her rioting vocals relegated to the background as part of the instrumentation, they are a driving force of many of the tracks. On “Grip Like A Vice,” Ninja’s raps are clear and intelligible; it almost sounds like a different person altogether, or even an impersonation of Talia from New Young Pony Club.

The record sprawls across a pretty large flavor base. “Titanic Vandalism” is a track with instrumentation that wouldn’t be completely out of place on a Fantastic Plastic Machine record, or any of the far-out orchestral Japanese pop bands. And there’s nothing vengeful about “The Wrath of Marcie” — banjos and plastic recorders make this song pop, while Ninja shows another facet of her vocal range. But there’s nothing on this record quite like “Keys To The City,” where Ninja finally gets a change to break it down before the trumpets take over the track. The introduction is a great concept that capitalizes on successful implementation; a ruckus of applause before the song begins quickly switches into the backbeat of the song. Despite the rapping, this song almost sounds positively Spanish with the assertive pomp of the brass and the Doors-esque guitars blending together.

On “Flashlight Fight,” we have a Go! Team first — a male vocalist. But it feels like a change for the sake of change, as nothing else on the record plays off of it or forecasts it. While the inclusion of a blanket of instruments may seem “random,” rest assured that what The Go! Team actually does is incredibly precise.

But the charm in this band comes from the way they make precision sound so care-free. The record’s only weakness comes from its lack of variety — Thunder, Lightning, Strike included a variety of images and sensations, while Proof of Youth takes the same party (albeit a kickass party) and spins it eleven times.

Superman always gets the girl. And The Go! Team will always snag the listener’s heart. Proof of Youth is one of 2007’s highlights, no questions asked.

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