My Album Of The Week for the week of February 24th-March 2nd, 2014:
The Van Gobots - Guantanamo Beach Party
01. Walk On Water
02. So Wrong
03. If It Moves Then Shoot It
04. Mickey Finn
05. Colorado
06. Proud Mother's Son
07. Any Means Of Destruction
08. The Ghost
09. Hostile Contender
Taking a little trip in the way-back machine for this one.
I'd heard the name The Van Gobots kicking around the Twin Cities for a while now, but hadn't really heard any of their work until they teamed up with Homeless for the album Twenty-Dirt (itself an AOTW back in December). In my write-up for that album I wrote:
"In place of a producer on Twenty-Dirt, Homeless collaborated with The Van Gobots (@TheVanGobots). I'd be lying if I said I was super-familiar with their work prior to Twenty-Dirt, but that may be for the best in this instance. The band works up a nice post-punk racket for Homeless' rhymes. Because I'm not familiar with their other work, it's possible for me to listen to these songs without wondering what they would have become without the restraint of the tracks being a canvas rather than the stand-alone art. It's certainly enough to make me want to check out more of their work."
Well, here we are a few months later and, spurred by the band giving me a follow on Twitter, I think it's probably time to start digging in. Guantanamo Beach Party came out back in 2009 and, based on what I've read, is the band's mostly widely known album. I've only listened to it once so far, but I was surprised by what I heard. On Twenty-Dirt the band plays fast and loose with the post-punk sound. On GBP, the songs are much tighter and streamlined. There's even a hint of soul music behind the rattle. Here's hoping it continues to reveal itself over the course of the week.
If you'd like to check out Guantanamo Beach Party yourself, head over to The Van Gobots Bandcamp page where it's available as a "Name Your Price" download.
