Brighton England’s The Go! Team (not to be confused with Washington State indie rockers The Go Team from the late 80s) are the brainchild of Ian Parton, the deeper dig record collecting mix-master musician turned DIY record producer/arranger extraordinaire. He recorded his first album Thunder, Lightning, Strike at his parents’ place in 2004. Since that time his work has garnered widespread critical acclaim including a nomination for the UK’s prestigious music award The Mercury Prize for Best Album of 2005. Having recorded his debut album entirely by himself Parton formed the touring incarnation of The Go! Team out of necessity after being asked to perform live for a Swedish music festival at a time when no band existed. The present line-up includes Parton in various capacities as well as Sam Dook (guitar) Simone Odaranile (drums/percussion) Adam Hutchison (bass) Ninja (vocals) and Angela Won-Yin Mak (vocals/guitar).
At the heart of Semicircle, their 5th album in 14 years, what makes it most unique, is Parton’s latest obsession with marching bands and youth choirs. In combining the bands live instrumentation (bolstered by a swaggering six-piece horn section) with samples of obscure high school marching band recordings Parton has managed to capture a distinctive blend of youthful exuberance and enthusiasm quite unlike anything else that has come before it. The vocalists he handpicked for the project are no less wonderfully unconventional and equally diverse ranging from members of the Detroit Youth Choir and area high-school kids to elementary and middle school students from the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences. Additional offbeat vocal contributions provided by Bandcamp discovery Darenda Weaver, Doreen Kirchner, Annelotte de Graaf (aka Amber Arcades) and Julie Margat as well as live and original band members Ninja and Angela “Maki” Won-Yin Mak. A refreshingly upbeat uplifting tapestry rich with genre bending grooves mashing unexpected elements of R&B, girl group, wall-of-sound, schoolyard chants with old school hip-hop funk and sunshine pop. The perfect soundtrack to Summer!
Rating: 7.5
Star Rating: 3/5
2018 Album Reviews: 7/52