Rolling Stone (No. 985, p.76) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...they blend guitar rock, bubblegum funk, Charlie Brown piano, harmoinca, horns, loads of samples and Sugar Hill-style femme rapping from MC Ninja...."
Spin (p.63) - Ranked #16 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "The sound of leaping off an exploding building into a mountain of cotton candy."
Entertainment Weekly (No. 843, p.76) - "The Go! Team...chop up gutbucket drum samples, surf-guitar riffs and cheerleader chants into a funky mess as infectious as the flu...." - Grade: A-
CMJ (No. 934, p.4) - "...[H]igh-octane TV cop drama funk bounced off playful pop melodies and hip-hop nostalgia..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Cunning juxtapositions such as the haunting harmonica that chisels blissful melodies from chest-beating samba horns on opener 'Panther Dash' seem more purposeful than perverse."
The Go! Team: Ninja (vocals); Silke Steidinger (various instruments); Sam Dook (guitar); Ian Parton (electric guitar, harmonica); Jamie Bell (bass guitar); Chi Taylor-Fukami (drums).
Originally issued in 2004, the Go! Team's acclaimed debut, THUNDER, LIGHTNING, STRIKE, finally received an official U.S. release in 2005. Upon listening to the first few minutes of the record, it is immediately evident what critics were raving about--the disc often sounds like the work of a less brooding DJ Shadow hooked on sugared cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. However, while Shadow raids vinyl collections for his layered, sample-based songs, England's Go! Team largely creates its own sounds with a six-member line-up and an arsenal of instruments. Driving indie-rock crashes into buoyant pop, which, in turn, bounces off of old-school hip-hop to create a gleefully inventive and diverse album.