The Go! Team- Thunder, Lightning, Strike

If Charlie Brown ever had an acid trip, I would imagine the soundtrack would be something similar to this. The Go! Team's much anticipated long player, "Thunder, Lightning, Strike " seems to explore the very corners of the music medium in a genre bending effort that gives merely a keyhole's glimpse into the depths of their melodic, and sonic schizophrenia. I was told that I would find them to be a healthy blend of DJ Shadow, The Books, and Manitoba. That much is true, however, it would appear that the members of The Go! Team take themselves even less seriously than one might expect. As campy as they are retro, it's in the breeziness and playful spirit they employ that bring this near masterpiece-disguised as a sunday morning comic strip-to such vibrant life. The Go! Team is the kind of band who unwittingly poke fun at genres while, at the same, expand upon them. The dazzling structure in which the album unfolds is telling, not only of their rampant hyperactivity, but their keen gift for orchestral-like compositions, as well. The intricacies used in assembling these goofy songs is enough to make one's head explode. The amazing part is that they completely succeed! Sure it's goofy, but at no point during the album's duration do you see The Go! Team as anything but the heavyweights that they are. "Thunder, Lightning, Strike " is probably the most danceable album in years, and one of the most suprisingly enjoyable releases of 2004.