CONTEST: Win a Green Go Prize Pack featuring concert tickets and a copy of their latest CD

GREEN GO - BORDERS

My 15 year old self would never have listened to a band like Green Go. You see, dance music and myself have never had a very close relationship through the years. Being a classic rocker in an Oshawa high school (or more accurately classic progger) meant that not only did I not dance, but I didn't go to dances, and I felt that it was my duty to beat up on any guy that did. However being a skinny non-athletic kid who was generally half the size of most of the happy-to-dance jocks in my school made it hard to fulfill the last part of that personality portfolio. Thankfully some years have passed, I've added a little bit of meat to my bones (OK, a lot of meat but sadly not the muscle kind) and I've resigned myself to the fact that my 15 year old self was a bit of an idiot. As much as labels are somewhat necessary in order to describe a band's sound, for the most part I try to listen to music without any premeditated labeling, and that allows me to be more diverse and eclectic in my choices.

I give you that semi-brief personal history factoid as a lyrical means of beating the crap out of my 15 year old self, and openly embracing the fact that my 35 year old self thinks that Green Go's latest release Borders is absolutely amazing! The CD is an accomplished album that will definitely make you dance like a fiend, although the band does so by using organic rock 'n roll instrumentation. I saw the Guelph band last weekend at an in-store showcase, which is never a proper atmosphere to see a band that specializes in hyperactive sweat-fueled electro-pop, but as I had mentioned, they brought the house down. This leads me to believe that their actual live show must be electrifying. In fact, the CD makes it obvious that the band is incapable of doing anything less. One problem that I still have with some of the dancier bands on my radar is that the live show is usually fantastic fun while the CD is usually a boring pile of ''meh." Not so with Green Go. Borders is a grand parade of energy that remains constant throughout the course of the album. In You Know You Want It, they literally shout the command "Don’t hold your breath! Dance ’til your death!" and honestly, the album leaves me with no other option but to do just that. Another thing that makes this album stand miles above others of a similar ilk, is the impressive lack of predictability. Former or current dance music haters know what I'm talking about. The repetitive beats, the predictable vocoders, the unimaginative lyrics. The band does make use of all of these ingredients but never to the point of brain cell-burning nausea. There are magnificent guitar moments, well thought out keyboard and drum parts, and surprising tempo changes. The truth of the matter is that there are very few times in my life that I actually feel like dancing, yet I anticipate that I will still be pulling out this album on a regular basis throughout the course of the year.

To sum up, however you want to classify Green Go's Borders, whether it's dance music, electro-pop, post-punk or unequivocally spasmodic mental and cognitive performance stimulant hypersong, the CD is just plain good and regardless of your genre of choice, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Myspace: Green Go
Download: Put Your Specs On Boy mp3


CONTEST: Green Go are celebrating the release of Borders on Pheromone Recordings at Wrongbar on Thursday April 30th. Joining them for the celebration is The Magic, Everything All The Time and Opopo DJ's. It's a No Shame event, and entrance is $5. Courtesy of Global Recess Records, I've got two free passes to give away, along with a copy of the new Green Go CD. If you want to win this fantastic prize, email me at quadb2001 [at] gmail [dot] com with "I Want To Green Go" in the subject line, and your full name in the body.

Contest is now closed. Thanks to all who entered.