Proof of Youth
Label: Sub Pop
Length: LP
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: Proof of Youth
From bouts of ringing, clamorous guitars to ’60s-pop drum-builds and cheerleading, the Go! Team brings smart, party-rockin’ chops to the table. To ceaselessly project youthful sensibility was an obvious directive when the Brighton, England, six-piece dropped 2005’s Thunder, Lightning, Strike; Proof of Youth furthers the mission, with enough clap-along choruses to outrun that Supremes comp on your shelf. “Doing It Right” boasts what’s now the band’s reliably lo-fi production through and through – bits of Motown brass and strings fall just short of being slick enough to sugarcoat the cymbal crashes and the snare, which thwacks as if being beaten with chains and sticks. Over bandleader Ian Parton’s Bomb Squad–esque bed of noise on “Flashlight Fight,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D. sounds as close to home as he did on Fear of a Black Planet – believe it. Even if the overtly smitten, shouting Go! Team doesn’t make a record that is listenable every day of the week, Proof of Youth shows maturity, whether they want to hear it or not.
This article appears in Sep 19-25, 2007.