Following the release of Rolling Blackouts in 2011 and the incessant touring through 2012, it seemed that The Go! Team, in name at least, might call it day, Parton having pretty much exhausted the template established in 2004 with Thunder, Rolling, Strike; of sampling blaxploitation, trumpets, hip hop, double dutch chanting, and TV theme tunes that had informed his formative years in front of the boob tube. Whether or not any of his personal signposts meant anything to you didn’t necessarily matter; his all-round great taste, an emphasis on esoteric cultures – particularly from America – from the pre-internet age, a fine ear for melody, his love of samples as another instrument, and their inherent, uncopyable ‘x-factor’, and his mastery of both lo-fi and hi-fi production techniques combined to create a fresh sound, the music usually striking an animated and upbeat tone. Taking time out to bring up his children, Parton took stock and eventually decided to have another crack. A change is as good as a rest they say, and Parton set about re-calibrating The Go! Team. So, out goes many of the usual musical keystones of his previous work, including the use of Ninja, his long-term rapper (but who is still part of the live set-up), in favour of a more traditional indie-rock sound, albeit still drenched in distortion, still purposefully lo-fi, with some – mostly obscured – samples, and what he believes is a more dynamic, less ‘flatliney’ feel, that nevertheless still involves months, sometimes years of work, before a song comes to fruition, such are the dense, yet subtle, layers of sound throughout. The drums, usually big and bashing, were once again recorded in his folk’s house, in Brighton, as they often have been throughout the existence of The Go! Team.
Moreover, The Scene Between continues to sound like a Go! Team record, its creation being a mix of the spontaneous and the painstaking, somehow resulting in another exciting and largely palatable album. And then there’s the exclusive use of female vocals, once again, Parton arguing that he just likes it better that way, the mix of the bittersweet confection and the ‘curviness’ of the natural melodies inherent in his singers of choice. As well as Doreen Kirchner (of Sudden Ensemble), there’s Samira Winter, Casey Sowa (of US band Strange Relations), Shi Lu (aka Atom, from Chinese band Hedgehog), Annabelle Cazes (aka Glockabella) and Emily Reo, all relatively unknown, all sounding disarmingly similar via the ‘cleanness’ of their voices. The London African Gospel Choir also feature twice.
Title track The Scene Between is typical Go! Team, mixing the euphoric, with the crashing and sample-heavy aesthetic that was Parton’s original blueprint. If it sounds more like a band this time, it’s because there’s more live instrumentation, courtesy of Parton as all as Go! Team regulars Sam Dook and Jamie Bell, but with samples mashed in as always, even if less liberally so. Blowtorch takes it to extremes, in building up a My Bloody Valentine scorched guitar groove and big thrashing drums, all layered up with innumerable snippets of samples, often just a chord, which is then processed beyond recognition. Meanwhile, Chinese singer Atom, lends Did You Know? a Nico/Velvet Underground vibe, her ‘chinglais’ adding to the warped, and gently distorted sound aesthetic. Lyrically, Parton continues to move away from the sloganeering of previous albums, to talk about specific ideas and stories. For instance, he explores the Heaven’s Gate cult (The Art of Getting By), death of a surfer (Her Last Wave), Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds (Reason Left to Destroy), and telephone confessions (Did You Know?).
Counteracting the generally more indie-rock sound of The Scene Between are several short interludes dotted around the album, giving Parton the excuse to experiment wildly with sound, warping and distorting to extremes, for instance on The Floating Felt Tip which really does sound like the tape has been left in the back seat of a hot car…
Ian Parton and The Go! Team continue to distil the essence of bubblegum, distorted guitars, fat bass, big drums, and heavy electronica, Parton’s music somewhat split between this need to make pure pop with a dirty, distorted, and warped twist. Strip away all that stuff and at the core, you do get some wonderful indie-pop confections, strong on melody as always, and with a great deal of thought and care put into each and every song. The Sweetness as it were. Mix it up with the other stuff and you get the bitter. Bitter. Sweet. Ying. Yang. Yum!
Jeff Hemmings