Go! Team Thunder, Lightning, Strike

I'll be honest, I don't really like dance music. Whether it be my own heroic inadequacies on the dance floor, or the interminable dross that filters out of Radio One these days, it just doesn't seem worth the effort. Of course, there's plenty of artists out there making listenable, creative dance (those poor unfortunates described as Intelligent Dance Music), and the likes of Four Tet and Warp keep electronica relevant, but frankly I'd much rather pogo to some Pixies.

All of which is pretty much unrelated to the Go! Team. I'd class Thunder, Lightning, Strike not as dance music, but music to dance to. An irritatingly semantic difference you say? Of course, but it's an important one. Panther Dash kicks off proceedings with a lively horn section and indie guitars, and the melody comes courtesy of a harmonica that sounds like it was played by Mick Jagger. You don't really remember that you don't like dancing, because you're taken up with bopping around your bedroom. Actually, that's probably how the album was created - recorded in the band's basement in Brighton, all one needs is a sampler, a guitar and an ear for a catchy tune. The record draws from most every genre you can think of, usually within each song. Ladyflash, one of the many highlights, veers from Supremes-style Motown to Avalanches-esque hip-hop, all backed by a tinny and exciting beat. The excellent old-school scratching on Get It Together is immediately followed by another horn-led tune in Junior Kickstart. It's all tons of fun, and is almost guaranteed to cheer you up with its overwhelming chirpiness.

That's probably the problem with dance music (and here commenceth the rant, again). It's all very well being earnest and taking yourself very seriously, but if you can't kick back and have some fun, what's the point of dancing? At the same time, it's all very well having a catchy melody, but if it sounds exactly the same as every other club anthem you'd hear in Ibiza, where's the variety? If you could somehow mash all the ingredients together, with a massive dose of fun, some cheeky references and some immensely catchy tunes, you'd probably end up with Thunder, Lightning, Strike. It's summer soon, and if I were a gambling man, maybe down in New Orleans, I'd put money on some songs from this album becoming the soundtrack to sun-drenched days and all-night parties. There are times (and I even surprise myself with this) when neither Mogwai nor Sigur Ros can match one's mood, and for those times, Thunder, Lightning, Strike is tailor made.