Pitchfork

Brighton, England action heroes The Go! Team-- fresh off a handful of European and American festival dates that, as previously bragged about, included an historic triumph at the Pitchfork-curated Intonation Festival last month-- are wasting no time getting out some fresh material. While we patiently wait for the remixed U.S. version of Thunder, Lightning, Strike to drop (it's due out on Columbia Records in October), the band has taken time to issue a tour-only EP titled Are You Ready for More?.

The new EP, which made its premier as part of The Go! Team's touring merch line during their Australian tour late last month, compiles the band's three previous B-sides ("We Listen Everyday" comes from the "Junior Kickstart" single, while "The Ice Storm" and "Hold Yr Terror Close" are taken off "The Power Is On"), and adds the brand new re-recorded single version of "Bottle Rocket", plus two other previously unreleased tracks, "Did You Feel It Too?" and "We Just Won't Be Defeated" (which may yet end up on the forthcoming "Bottle Rocket" single, due out September 26th). Here's a preview of what to expect:

01 Bottle Rocket (Single Version)
Reworked from the UK version, this track gives some indication as to what many of the songs on the U.S. version might sound like. Though much of the song's instrumentation remains intact, this new single version features noticably cleaner and less distorted production values, and showcases rapper Ninja standing in for the original sampled vocal parts.

02 The Ice Storm
Gusting in with icy wind effects, this excellent wintry instrumental piece employs sleigh bells, organ, and toy piano to create a beautifully blustery melody that's equal parts melancholy and hopeful. Possibly the EP's highlight.

03 We Listen Everyday
Highly redolent of many of Thunder, Lightning, Strike's best tracks, if not quite as action-packed, "We Listen Everyday" is another horn-strewn double-dutch chant.

04 Hold Yr Terror Close
Pure eighth-grade nostalgia, this theatrical, recital-like number was seemingly recorded in a high school gymnasium and, with its plinky upright piano and giggly young female vocalist, resurrects hazy memories of passing the auditorium every day on your way to the lunchroom.

05 Did You Feel It Too?
Like "We Listen Everyday" without the jumpropers, "Did You Feel It Too?" is another sentimental spin-off of Thunder, Lightning, Strike's more adamantly victorious numbers, with wistful strings poured on for added conviction.

06 We Just Won't Be Defeated
Though its title might suggest that the EP plans to go out with a huge, surly bang, "We Just Won't Be Defeated" is very much along the same lines as "Hold Yr Terror Close", though the melody is markedly better.

As previously reported, The Go! Team are currently making the rounds on the European festival circuit, but plan to launch another headlining North American club tour in the fall to support the album's stateside release. In the meantime, the band has just revealed plans to appear at Belgium's annual Pukkelpop festival on August 19, in addition to their previously announced late-summer itinerary:

08-19 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop
08-26 Cologne, Germany - Monsters of Spex
08-27 Reading, England - Reading Festival
08-28 Leeds, England - Leeds Festival
09-11 Isle of Wight, UK - Bestival

href="http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/05-07/29.shtml#goteam">The Go! Team to Tour North America