It’s ironic that I have That 70’s Show playing and on mute and I take in the tunes of The Go, because it takes me back to the early days of my youth when my passion for music was well on its way to becoming an obsession…when guitars were sexy and the lead singers even sexier…when men rolled out of bed and walked down the street for some smokes. So they really had that tussled hair look, not a fabrication of an hour in front of the mirror with Queer Eye for the Straight guy hair balm. You could smell the leather of their guitar cases, close your eyes and listen with your headphones on, and actually feel the sweat from their shirts as they rocked the stage.
That’s why I love this album so damn much. It’s real, it’s raunchy, and it’s rock and roll. Bobby Harlow’s vocals are sweet and hard at the same time, and his guitar hooks are even heavier on the honey, baby, playing it for me one more time. The bluesy mood stuff from the classic days, I just had to use a quote from their bio. “Our parents were rock ‘n’ roll freaks; we grew up with Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles and all of that,” says Harlow, who also has a background in jazz.
You can also pick up elements of Arlo Guthry or Bob Dylan on tracks like “Come Back”, filled with the vibe of riding down the road with the wind in your hair as you take in a toke of herbal happiness. Then the van heads to the Whiskey A-Go-Go for a jam with the ghost of Jim Morrison (it’s no wonder Lizard King Records pick them up) on “Summers Gonna Be My Girl”, bubbling with psychedelic perfection.
Go get The Go. Go now.
