Originally put out in the dull gloom of late November 2004, (roughly two weeks before I wrote my first word for DiS), this single has been re-recorded for deliverance to a rapidly amassing audience. Buffed-up and cut-down, the samples that helped layer the song, (like the Archie Bell and the Drells guitar skiff tucked away beneath the first vocal part), have been replaced by a band cautious to see that every note is their own. Of course, there is no need to fret - if you liked this song before, it will continue to trigger the same responses. Namely, a grin dangerously close in diameter to that of a 'Chelsea Smile'.
Hit play and 'Ladyflash' pours from the speakers with the free consistency of maple syrup; flooding your ear drums and plugging your lugholes up Vs. the unnecessary sounds of other, duller bands. String and bassline bound about, rolling into each other like one-time childhood sweethearts re-incarnate. With motown, hip-hop, post-rock and electro all skilfully distilled into a single-sized three minutes, 'Ladyflash' is The Go! Team pushing us all into a synesthetic world where music is as colourful as a packet of Rowntree's Fruit Gums. Reportedly endorsed by Kevin Shields as the band that put on the greatest live show he had ever witnessed, the future looks suitably bright for Brighton's finest exporters of noughties northern soul.
While lacking the bombast of the record's choicest cuts, (namely 'Bottle Rocket' and 'Huddle Formation'), this re-recorded and re-released 'Ladyflash' hangs in the memory long enough to light up dark winter days. And, though there can be no doubt that this is a song written with mid-July sunshine in mind, there is little doubt that January would be a lot greyer without The Go! Team.
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8's Score