The Go! Team
Issue #33
Proof of Youth (Sub Pop/Memphis Industries)
By Garin Pirnia
Published: September 1st, 2007 | 12:00am
On this Brighton, England, sextet’s 2004 debut, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, their protean instrumentations alchemized a kaleidoscope of ’70s action-themed beats, funk, hip-hop, and pop-music distortions into the best album of the year. Relying heavily on samples, the group sold one of its tracks to a car commercial in order to pay for the licensing.
Ian Parton and team return with a more vocal-centric record and continue their succinct craftsmanship with a smaller amount of samples. “Grip Like A Vice” opens Proof of Youth with strident police sirens that evoke the chaos of the urban jungle — frenzied horns, stuttering marching anthems, and a female MC prodding to “get ready for this.” It’s the perfect catalyst for an album full of energetic and jovial music.
The next track, “Doing It Right,” involves repetitive cheer-squad chants — a recurring element throughout Proof. The entirely instrumental and melodic “My World” acts as an interlude to slow down the rhythms until “Titanic Vandalism” kicks off back-to-back effusive songs of brass instruments and rapping. Here, Proof of Youth hits a wall with all songs indistinctively blurring into one another.
The record regroups on the poignant “I Never Needed It Now So Much,” followed by the penultimate “Flashlight Fight,” featuring Public Enemy’s Chuck D rapping over urgent noises, and closes with the jangly “Patricia’s Moving Picture.”
Proof contains less instrumental tracks than its predecessor and lacks an impeccable pop gem like “Huddle Formation.” The Go! Team’s second time around doesn’t generate anything too innovative but still clicks. What the Team does best are snappy, fierce, and feel-good songs that celebrate the innocence of youth.
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