The Go

Watcha Doin’ (Sub Pop)
by Jon Sarre

Seems like I’m gonna be stuck on the fence on this ‘un. I thought listening to it enough times would somehow make the Go either favorably stick with a song or two, or get on my nerves to the point where I could rudely dismiss ’em with a buncha nasty names, but they persist in defying me. Maybe it’s cuz of Bobby Harlow’s lazy David Byrne-soundin’ vocals, or that the band’s repertoire of recycled MC5 twelve-bar licks don’t really sound like they’re really trying to get at you, they’re just sorta there. The motions the Go goes thru are pretty good ones, though: semi-psychedelic, sometimes noisy guitars, fuzz, tambouriny percussion, echoy vocals, decent songs (even if they do sound like covers or maybe I’ve just listened to this too damn much), but I dunno… maybe too many folks just try too hard to save rock’n’roll.
(PO Box 20645 Seattle, WA 98102)