The Go-Go's
God Bless the Go-Go's
(Beyond/Go-Go's)
Having long since ceded the top of the
charts to assembly-line songbirds young enough to be their daughters, the Go-Go's return to the
record racks doesn't stand a chance with 21st-century mallrats whose idea of a golden oldie is
Mariah Carey. But naysayers who pegged it as a cynical bid for a seat on the 80s nostalgia gravy
train underestimate these revitalized 40-somethings. If God Bless the Go-Go's proves
anything, it's that the band is as charmingly anomalous in oh-ohs as it was in the eight-ohs.
Sure, the album sounds like the crack follow up Talk Show always deserved, but don't set
the Way Back Machine for 1984 -- "Throw Me a Curve" is an ebullient body-image manifesto the
girls wouldn't have touched 17 years ago, "Daisy Chain" is a cautionary tale documenting the
band's travails with men and other harmful substances, while "Automatic Rainy Day" and
"Unforgiven" are propulsive kiss-offs 180 degrees from the trippy, naive romanticism of "Head
Over Heels." Curmudgeons and Next-Big-Thingers will hate it regardless. But anyone with a
weakness for ear candy will welcome the return of some of pop-rock's most reliable
confectioners.
Rating: 8
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