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Avg: 4.0 (16 ratings)
- Date Released: September 13, 2004
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: Memphis Industries / V2 Records
A cut-and-paste sampling party.
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We Say...
The Go! Team’s debut Thunder, Lightning, Strike doesn’t renege on its title’s electrifying promise. A rambunctious and joyous set that juxtaposes a whole slew of eras and genres, it was almost universally lauded upon its release in 2004. At root, it’s a cut-and-paste sampling party, planned and hosted by Brighton, England’s Ian Parton — the kind of shindig that could make even the most gloomy of Radiohead fans lighten up. Double Dutch-style playground chants; Bollywood strings; old-school hip-hop; cop show themes; Blaxploitation funk motifs and various live instruments including electric guitar, melodica and harmonica — Parton blends these and other ingredients to deliciously cheering effect.
Prior to assembling the three boys and three girls sextet that toured TLS with Franz Ferdinand in 2004, Parton, then working as a TV documentary maker, assembled much of the album in his parent’s kitchen. Unsurprisingly, it’s a lo-fi affair that concentrates on maximising its "eureka!" moments rather than getting bogged-down in fine-tuning. The distorted recorders that ride breakbeats on “Get It Together”; the positivity-and-trumpets-laden chorus of “We Just Won’t Be Defeated” — such are the treats to savour on a work that conjures a loose-limbed jam between De La Soul, John Barry, Issac Hayes and the gal rappers on Malcolm McLaren’s 1983 album “Duck Rock.”
Pleasingly, the Go! Team’s two drummers mostly favour an energizing splashy /crashy approach, and Nkechi Ka, AKA Ninja’s raps pack an infectious euphoria throughout. By the time the banjo-led instrumental “Everyone’s a VIP to Someone” brings things to a rolling, wide-screen conclusion, one’s joie de vivre and rejuvenation buttons have been given a good firm push.
Back in the day, Rolling Stone and Time gushed about Thunder, Lightning, Strike, welcoming it as the kind of energizing, feel-good record that Saturday nights were made for. Danceable, celebratory, irreverent and above all fun, it continues to offer welcome respite from indie’s sizable glut of angst-ridden, morose fare. -
They Say...
The Go! Team earn their exclamation point. Their debut album, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, is a refreshing blast of Day-Glo bubble-dance-pop that could crack a smile on even the most frozen of faces. The sound of the record is a slap in the face to audio purists; it sounds like it was recorded on a truck stop-quality cassette in a very damp, crowded basement. The feel of the record is like a slap on the arse of complacent music-makers everywhere. A wake-up call to arms; a "can you top this?" The group whips up a clattering, exhilarating collage of Northern soul horns meshed with sampledelic beats, plangent harmonica, lyrical piano melodies that bring Martin Duffy's work with Felt to mind (especially on "Feelgood By Numbers"), hard-charging '70s police drama funk, old-school hip-hop, and sincere indie rock. Everyone from Marley Marl to Sonic Youth is roped in to be borrowed from. It's all thrown together with a glorious sense of what works and what doesn't. There isn't a single misstep on the record and it is hard to pick favorites because every song is so blindingly good. Still, if pressed, one might pick "Ladyflash" because it encapsulates everything that is brilliant about the band, from the "Tighten Up" samples to the wonderful vocals (by the one-woman wrecking crew Ninja) that are equal parts playground hip-hop crossed with a sassy girl group to the melody to the two drummers beating the holy crap out of their kits. Find a better song than this from 2004 and you are lying. Well, maybe "Huddle Formation," a more straightforward song with the same double dutch vocals, only this time married to bracing New Order playing the hits of Phil Spector in a wind tunnel musical backing. But again any song would do, the banjo-driven epic ballad "Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone," the funkier than Ike & Tina "Bottle Rocket," the theme to the best day of your life "Friendship Update." It's pin the tail on the donkey where everywhere you stick the pin gets you a prize. The Go! Team is widescreen in a pan-and-scan world, a sparkling rejoinder to purists and spoilsports everywhere and more fun than recess on the last day of school. Cinematic, fantastic, and essential to all who want their music larger than life and rambunctious, Thunder, Lightning, Strike is the kind of record that makes you glad to be alive. What could be better than that?
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Rolling Stone
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| 01. |  |
Panther Dash |
2:45 |
|
| 02. | |
Ladyflash |
4:09 |
|
| 03. | |
Feelgood By Numbers |
1:58 |
|
| 04. | |
The Power is On |
3:14 |
|
| 05. | |
Get It Together |
3:24 |
|
| 06. | |
We Just Won't Be Defeated |
2:45 |
|
| 07. | |
Junior Kickstart |
3:34 |
|
| 08. |
Air Raid Guitar |
0:38 |
|
|
| 09. | |
Bottle Rocket |
3:42 |
|
| 10. | |
Friendship Updates |
4:00 |
|
| 11. | |
Hold Yr Terror Close |
2:22 |
|
| 12. | |
Huddle Formation |
3:11 |
|
| 13. | |
Everyone's a VIP to Someone |
4:58 |
|
13 Total Tracks, 40:40 Total Length
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Credits
- The Go! Team - Main Performer
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