Rolling Blackouts is the third album from The Go! Team, an indie-rock sextet that blends its funky pop-garage-rock sound with pretty much every musical style it can get its hands on.
In any given song, you might hear hip-hop, distortion, chanting, clapping and maybe a touch of blaxploitation or Bollywood influence — just to keep things interesting.
The band is also known for its manic energy — think a giddy little kid on the last day of school — and this album is no exception.
Opener “T.O.R.N.A.D.O.” is the aural equivalent of someone bursting into a room, slapping you across the face and demanding to know why you aren’t dancing. The strange thing is, you’re not angry; in fact, you’re grinning, shaking your head and boogieing right alongside him.
The energy continues unabated, bouncing merrily through the peppy “Secretary Song” and opening “Apollo Showdown” with a sirenlike wail that conjures up images of topping 800 points in a game of Skee-ball. Funky, with hip-hop-influenced vocals and an anthemic chorus punctuated with spirited clapping, this song exemplifies the overall feel of the album: fun music that fires you up.
If Galactic, Deerhoof — whose lead singer, by the way, makes an appearance on “Secretary Song” — and ADHD had a baby, it would be The Go! Team.
The band doesn’t slow its breakneck pace until “Bust-Out Brigade.” By the time this track rolls around, you’ve earned a break.
And oh, what a break this instrumental jam provides. Please bear with me when I tell you this song sounds like a mash-up of “Soul Man” and The Price Is Right theme as performed by a pep band marching in a parade on a rainy day.
As soon as you’ve caught your breath, the album resumes its former frenzy with track after track of bouncy, sing-a-longablethe bouncy, sing-a-longable “Buy Nothing Day.”
Rolling Blackouts isn’t without its moments of introspection, usually in the form of 2-minute long instrumental interludes. The wistful “Super Triangle” evokes the bittersweetness of winning a video game you’ve spent weeks playing, and “Lazy Poltergeist” languidly meanders through a piano landscape.
Of course, this is The Go! Team, and they can’t help but cheer back up again. A final highlight is “Yosamite Theme” which, despite the nagging spelling error, is one of the most cheerful songs you’ll ever hear. You half expect the music to be carried out of your speakers on the backs of butterflies.
It’s this kind of thing — totally hyperbolic happiness, utterly over-the-top energy — that makes Rolling Blackouts such a pleasure. It’s exuberant, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes listening all the more fun.
