Album Review: “Proof of Youth” by The Go! Team
RIYL: Half-Handed Cloud, The Polyphonic Spree, Tally Hall, The Avalanches, United State of Electronica
The Go! Team is one of the few bands with a sound so unique you can recognize it from a mile away. A hybrid of cheery electronica, cheerleading, and garage rock so loud it could be orchestral, Proof of Youth is a solid second album, even if it is a bit much at times. Best described as in-your-face bubblegum, The Go! Team is straight up high-energy syrup complex enough to warrant some serious attention.
The best news is that The Go! Team hasn’t lost their touch. If you liked Thunder! Lightning! Strike! you’re bound to fall for Proof of Youth just as easily. The same high-pitched female emcees make their appearance alone and in groups, and the songs are as fast-paced, sugared-up as ever. And the band hasn’t left behind their signature instruments: hand clapping and bells.
If you’re having trouble digesting the pink candy coating of The Go! Team sound, try the instrumental track “My World” which is less over the top but still definitively Go! In fact, “My World” is arguably the best track on the album, closely followed by “Universal Speech,” while “The Wrath of Marcie” takes third and sounds like the introductory theme to a game show. All in all, The Go! Team continues to set the bar higher in the world of übercheery pop/rock/electronic/kitsch. Is it over the top? Exhilarating to the very end? Yes. But will you sit through the whole album? Of course. Then again, perhaps the ability to stomach an entire Go! Team record in one sitting may just be proof of youth.
Recommended Tracks:
“My World,” “Universal Speech,” and “Flashlight Fight”