Your go-to for British rock

So you could say we've borrowed a lot of good stuff from the Brits, those curious people from across the North Atlantic. You might say we got a couple decent musicians in the '60s, a language, a few James Bonds, a certain type of muffin ... yeah, all that and more. And just to convince you that fair trade is still the name of the game, I give you "The Go! Team," our latest trans-Atlantic musical pilfering. This Brighton-born six-piece group came Stateside this month after more than a year spent in the wings. Their full-length debut, "Thunder, Lightning, Strike," has just been waiting for an American audience. And we say: welcome, ye music-mad innovators. It's about time.

"Thunder, Lightning, Strike" is a musical odyssey — a rather odd one — wrought with a solid foundation of instrumentation and fortified by an awesome display of compositional experimentation. The album jumps off the line with "The Panther Dash," track one of this healthy 13-track project. And so I warn you now: unless, like me, you're something of a musical masochist, I suggest you back off the bass a tad. This track will catch you off guard with its thickness. Go ahead and count the sheer variety of its contributing factors: layers and layers of brass, a unifying bass track, a harmonica interlude, digital samples and some furious cymbal work. Did I mention the curious lack of vocals? No need in this sonic orgy.

The first voices you hear are at the minute mark of track two, "Ladyflash," in which we toggle off between some sensitive high-end verse and a solid lady-lap chorus. She goes by "Ninja." Enjoy her talents. Added to the mix are a few frontline string arrangements, some garbage can percussion and what sounds like a flute jam. Where does it stop? Umm ... not here.

"The Power Is On" kicks in a few tracks down the line. A chant-driven pump-up song, it does justice to the band's fanatical, cheerleading title. Sure to get you going, this one sports the intensity of a drumline. Set against a heavy bass drop straight off a Beastie Boys album, it also bears a likeness to a certain Rocky theme song. Dig it, and if you find yourself at the base of Blair Arch with an uncontrollable urge to sprint to the top while an Orange Key tour group passes by, pointing and laughing at the silly Princetonian ... well, don't say I didn't warn you.

What else can I say ... this album really does it all. Look ahead for more adolescent chanting, more scratching, more video game sound effects and the staple of every rock album: a closing track fronted by a banjo piece. The production quality on "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" is somewhat grainy and muddled, but something tells me that's the idea. Its rawness is an asset, its nonstop barrage of sound a major highlight. And yet throughout, it is always controlled, always paced — even when you might expect it to spiral out of control. I wish I could say the same thing about my current state of mind.