The Futurist Song Of The Week For August 17th
Mike Taylor - The Go! Team - “Flashlight Fight”, from the CD, Proof Of Youth
The Go! Team’s debut, 2004’s Thunder, Lightning, Strike was one of those records that came out of left field and caught everyone by pleasant surprise. However, the very nature of the band’s foundation – a cheerleading squad fronting a cut-and-paste “band” - begged questions about their sustainability. Favorably received live dates quieted some critics, but how ‘bout that difficult next record? How long can the same format remain interesting, short of repeating the debut?
Well, I’m here to report that the band has cleared the sophomore slump hurdle, albeit not as gracefully as an artist progressing in full stride. Yes – it’s not too far removed from the funky cheers of their debut but it does appear that the Double Dutch Divas are called on a bit more to, you know, actually sing. That in and of itself sets Proof Of Youth apart from Thunder, Lightning, Strike. There’s nothing here to convert those not already tuned into the band and it should satisfy existing fans, I feel secure in the belief that Proof Of Youth will have far less staying power and impact than their debut basically because it’s not going to sneak up on anyone this time around. There’s probably a good 6 tracks that got my toe tapping and had enough new wrinkles for me to give the disc a mild recommendation.
A surprise on the disc that did sneak up on me, though, was the appearance of Chuck D on “Flashlight Fight”. Nearly buried as the 10th track on the disc, the Public Enemy MC seamlessly falls into place fronting the band. It really works well. My advice, though, is not to skip to the track when listening to the CD. Let it sneak up on you, a surprise highlight so deep into the CD.
Matt Shiv - Pash- “ABCD” from the CD The Best Gun
The best thing about my job is the discovery aspect. We get a lot of new music at the station every week. There are some releases that come in and they are from established artists or it’s something that I have at least heard about in advance and know I want to check out. Sometimes, you just get gobsmacked by a band that you know nothing about and those often turn up to be some of my favorite releases. In the case of Pash, a comparison to Velocity Girl caught my eye and made me investigate the album a bit further. A lot of times, the comparisons brought on by promoters and bands are way off base. This one was accurate enough to keep me listening.
This is a cut from The Best Gun, the upcoming album from the Virginia-based band. They worked with Jason Caddell from The Dismemberment Plan on the disc which is in stores August 28th.
Joe Long - Tiny Masters Of Today, “Hey Mr. DJ” from the CD Bang Bang Boom Cake.
Count me in for a nice gimmick every now and then. At least I thought this was just a gimmick. Of course I am referring to the fact that the brother and sister duo known as Tiny Masters Of Today are only 11 and 13 years old respectively. So, what makes this nothing more than the biggest kid rockers since Smoosh? Well, for one, Russell Simins of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion thinks so much of these kids that he not only produced their upcoming album, but also plays drums behind them.
Also of note is that the band are new signees to Mute Records overseas and have their debut slated to be released next month here in the states. As for this song, Hey Mr. DJ, it is a simple tune, that well, it really rocks. I am not only impressed with the percussion skills of Simmins, but also of the guitar skills of one of the Tiny Masters. Check out this video of some live footage of the song. And head on over to their myspace page for another tune they do with Karen-O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
