The Go-Go's – Beauty and the Beat (1981)

The Go-Go's was a groundbreaking all-female new wave rock band. There had not been that many popular all-female bands before the Go-Go's who would've made all of their songs and played all of their instruments themselves. Whether it's because other groups couldn't get record deals, or because women weren't encouraged to do rock in the same way back then, I don't know, but I can't think of many examples of bands like this before them. Many female rockers and other celebrities have mentioned The Go-Go's as major role models for them growing up. The Go-Go's were really popular back when this debut album of theirs came out. It was one of the biggest selling debut albums back then. It's strange how this band is now almost unknown for larger audiences. It's kind of a mystery which bands can sustain their popularity throughout the years even if they are not active.



Some of the new wave and post-punk bands from the early 80's have not aged well. The sounds of many of those bands sound very outdated today. This is definitely not the case with The Go-Go's. If anything, I would say that it is incredibly clear how big an influence this bands has been to many more recent indie rock bands. The sounds are not ruined by extensive studio tricks and that's why the music sounds organic and current even today. The treble-filled bass lines are typical for new wave, but many cool bands today use similar sounds in their music. The melodies on these songs are quite amazing. They're really catchy, yet complicated enough to set them apart from other bands of the time. I mean, there are clear similarities to bands like Blondie, but I feel like The Go-Go's have cooler sounds in the instruments and pretty much every song on this album is a hit.

Our Lips Are Sealed opens the album with amazingly peppy pop tunes. The clear electric guitars sound great. How Much More is more of a punk rock song. The drum-work is brilliant and this kind of sound was later used by another band on the I.R.S. record label, R.E.M. Lust to Love and This Town are great melancholic hit songs with cool melodies and guitars. We Got the Beat was one of the obvious hits from the album. This song sounds like it might have influenced bands such as LeTigre later on, because even though this is more melodic and poppy, there's similar kind of mood in this song. Automatic sounds almost like a female version of Joy Division.

The Go-Go's also made music videos. Naturally, as it was the early 80's and MTV started in the same year. The music video for Our Lips Are Sealed shows a little bit about how cool the band was. The band members drive around sunny LA in a convertible and fool around. There are also some sequences of them playing live.

The Go-Go's made two other great albums in the 1980's, but I think this debut album might be their best one. I only discovered this band a few years ago while going through some research for my various music blogs. I think it's strange that many people my age and younger have never heard of this band even though they were quite popular back in the day. This band has most likely been a great influence on many women and encouraged them to make rock music. This band should be given a lot more historical credit than it gets and I hope younger generations will also discover their amazing music.

Listen to the album on Spotify.