Go!

Reviews

Go! Just Say Go: 1989–1991 and The Time is Now LP

GO! may just be the perfect example of when a band is more than just a band. They represent something far beyond the music they created. Vocalist Mike BS had an influential zine called Bullshit Monthly and founded ABC No Rio, an iconic, long-running DIY venue that offered a more inclusive alternative to the notoriously violent CBGBs hardcore matinees. GO! was an integral part of a scene that broadened what NYHC encompassed, with a blatantly anti-racist, anti-sexist, pro-queer message. Their brand of hardcore subverted the tough-guy machismo while delivering speedy, youth-crew-style tunes with sarcasm and wit to boot. GO! was a unifying force in a genre that talked outwardly about unity but has traditionally had a narrow scope for who that ideal could apply to. Their first gig was with NAUSEA! In the sixteen-page booklet that accompanies this record, you’ll find many fliers from when they shared bills with bands like BORN AGAINST, CITIZEN’S ARREST, and RORSCHACH. In 2026, mixed-genre shows are anomalous, but in GO!’s heyday, this formula made unity something more than an empty slogan. The period of the band collected here may have been brief, but they were prolific. This album contains just shy of sixty songs, with a gatefold cover and aforementioned booklet, courtesy of ever-reliable Refuse Records. This is essential listening for anyone with even a passing interest in this style of hardcore, and it lands at a moment when violence at shows is a pressing topic yet again.

Go! Impact LP

What if late ’80s NYHC had been heartfelt and honest and without pretension? What if ’80s NYHC had been made by nerds and emo kids (before emo kids were even a thing)? What if ’80s NYHC had had a sense of humor (BORN AGAINST notwithstanding, of course)? If those things had been so, then ’80s NYHC would have sounded like GO!, but fortunately there was GO! so the answer is yes, this is what (late) ’80s NYHC sounded like. They were but a blip, but somehow managed to crank out a half-dozen (or more?) records between ’89–’91, and their approach to hardcore might sound even more refreshing now than it did then. Mike’s vocals are almost lazy, but it feels like he’s just confidently spitting facts to a backing track of no-bullshit USHC punk…because that’s what is happening. Impact compiles the two EPs (Reactive and What We Build Together) from a reformed GO! that were released in the mid-’00s with a ripping live WFMU set from 2006, and this is the anecdote to oppressive toxic hardcore. “Your power means nothing at all.”