WORLD MUSIC

If you stretch right back to the mid-sixties, to a time before Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Iron Butterfly, you can chart some of the earliest appearances of what would soon come to be known as 'psychedelia'. Initially found in the radical new sounds of New York's esoteric folk collective The Holy Modal Rounders, the fuzzy electric garage-rock of the seminal Texas-based outfit The 13th Floor Elevators and the heady, mind-rippling literary musings of a one Timothy Leary, the first shimmering wave of what we now characterize 'psychedelic rock' burned brightly throughout the latter half of the 1960's as it seemingly does now in 21st century Scandanavia. The latest offering from Sweden's psychedelic scene, Goat whipped up a fair amount of curiosity during the summer months of 2012 thanks to their genre-straddling debut 'World Music', an album that hitches afro- beats, ethnic fusion flurries and deeply-layered tribal melodies onto the fledgling group's Dungen-tinged psych-rock origins. As a result, 'World Music' belongs to that ever-growing collective of 21st century psych-rock crusaders - the likes of Wooden Shjips, The Black Angels, Dungen, 120 Days, Gnod, Tame Impala etc - who have managed to blend the funky camouflage of modern hip-rock with old-school acid-rock dynamics and their own tripped-out characteristics. Although Goat lack the dance-laced edge of the Swedish contemporaries, 'World Music' - never has a title been so apt - works a colourful mixture between cosmic poppery and more experimental avenues; progressive this ain't. It's also a surprisingly short album, though those who discover the African-blessed opener 'Diarabi', the heavy, beat-blustering catch of the excellent 'Let It Bleed' and the final, drowsily-toned epic 'Det Som Aldrig Förändras' will surely make 'World Music' last that bit longer. Imagine a heady brew of Fela Kuti-sized rhythm chops and Sky Saxon Seeds-drilled guitars, all drenched in a gutsy experimental coating, and what you have is a thoroughly contemporary take on the ever-mutating 'psychedelic' sound from this oddly unique Swedish group. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2013

I am a Goathead.

I admit that (if you'll pardon the choice of words) a little sheepishly, as an introverted ex-garage band drummer with two left feet who recently fell, after only a slight nudge from a Fellow Traveler in these Archives, under the spell of this young Scandinavian ensemble. Hardly surprising, given the colorful mystique the band has created for themselves, extending beyond the music itself toward some sort of arcane ethno-spiritual connection with the inner experience of communal song and syncopation.

Like THE RESIDENTS, the Goat collective understands the attraction of myth and mystery. You'll notice a lack of individual credits here, because the band insists on masking its shared identity...literally, using homemade masks and gaudy costumes. Even the total number of musicians is a dark secret, with (maybe) four employed in the studio but seven (or more) on stage. "All the members of Goat will never be seen together", says a spokesperson for the herd, adding a lot of portentous mumbo-jumbo about the past lives of the band in earlier generations.

So where does that leave the music? Their debut album is eclectic in design but totally uniform in quality, despite being released on vinyl in a rainbow of editions matching the kaleidoscope of influences behind it: Krautrock psychedelia; "Maggot Brain" Funkadelic grooves; Talking Heads intelligent dance circa "Remain in Light"; Scandinavian Black Metal; and the Beach Boys (the last two in their own words: personally I don't hear it). The female vocalist(s) tend to shout in exuberance instead of actually sing, but it's all part of the ongoing Dionysian frenzy of funked-out rhythms and freaked-out guitars.

The band may hail from Sweden, but are travelers on every continent: northern Europe, central Africa, creole America. Their backwoods hometown, supposedly a nexus of ancient voodoo sacrament and early Christian witch-hunts, is located above the Arctic Circle less than 30-kilometers from the border of Finland, which may explain the slight edge of insanity. Don't be surprised to hear a wild, Hendrix-inspired guitar solo give way to a gently unplugged acoustic coda. Or a heavy Space Rock adaptation of a Boubacar Traoré folk song. Or the sort of one-chord power raga not heard since the heyday of AMON DÜÜL II and AGITATION FREE, forty years earlier.

More than simply energetic, the album is celebratory. This is music ideally suited to forbidden rituals in dark forest glens: the perfect diversion for extroverted pagans. Which, of course, makes it very appealing to a flat-footed, freethinking wallflower like yours truly.

Look for the ceremony to continue with a new studio album, due next month as of this posting.

This album really surprised me. GOAT are a seven piece on this their debut from 2012 with two female singers, two percussionists, guitar, bass and keyboards. Very tribal sounding with the two percussionists and the big surprise for me were the female vocals that sort of yell the lyrics. I thought it was one singer double tracked until I looked it up. Surprised because I'm just not into bands that use gimmicks like this band keeping their identity secret and wearing homemade masks and costumes on stage. Thankfully the music here should be the focus because it's so good, very rhythmic and catchy, danceable stuff for sure. In my liner notes for the KING GIZZARD live album from 2016 in SF there's a picture of one of their drummers wearing a GOAT band shirt. Three of the song titles have "goat" in them and I was getting my goat-on all this past week I'll tell you that. Goats are hilarious right? Freezing and falling down and the way they yell.

Some humour there as well as on my favourite track "Run To Your Mama" which is less than 2 1/2 minutes long but it's just bliss for me and funny with that repeated line "Boy you better run to your mama now". There's more depth on this one and I love the guitar tone, really into the guitar on this one. Second favourite is "Let It Bleed" which was love at first listen. Mid-paced and so catchy. Head bobbing time. Is that sax before 2 1/2 minutes?

Third pick wasn't so easy as those two stand above the crowd but I went with "Goathead" with that nasty, nasty bass to open with. Beats and inventive guitar join in then vocals before a minute. That guitar can get experimental but also jazzy on other tracks then psychedelic, acid and distorted. The vocals are their most passionate on this one hitting those highs almost straining to do so. So good! The opening instrumental "Diarabi" needs to be mentioned and it's part of the final lazy track as well as they end it like they began. A real 60's vibe to "Goatlord" including the vocals. A couple of the songs open with a sample of someone speaking which is cool.

This is closer to 4.5 stars, I'm just so darned impressed with this album I really look forward to putting it on.

A strange band for strange times with a not so strange name. Yeah that's GOAT. A collective of musicians that the band claims emerged from the far northern Arctic wonderland of Sweden in a town called Korpilombolo which sits nestled against the Finnish border pondering the existential quandaries of the universe during the long cold and dark winters that grace the far norther regions of Scandinavia. A band that is more psychedelic in its tale telling than in its actual music, leader and head honcho Goatman claims that the band emerged as a result of voodoo being practiced in the hometown for centuries until Christians got wind and burned it to the ground. The survivors who fled cursed the town and all who descended from it.

Also GOAT claims its musical endeavors are a town tradition dating back several decades in which a rotating cast of members has come and gone and sworn not to reveal their identities therefore the band members are shrouded in ambiguity and secrecy donning masks and colorful garb and known for its outrageous live performances. While more steeped in mythology than actual reality the band is currently based out of Gothenburg, Sweden and features two singers, two guitars, an electric bass, a drum kit and African congas and the live shows are energetically infused with dance numbers and crazy mock rituals. The actual date of origin is unknown but one thing is for certain and that the band's debut album WORLD MUSIC hit the scene in 2012 and became an instant hit in its native Sweden.

If only the band's music was as wild as its publicity stunts. It's experimental approach mixes everything from hard rock and psychedelia to jazz, Krautrock and Afrobeat. It's an oddball approach and one that simulates an alternative timeline where Krautrock emerged in Haiti rather than the European continent but who knows. Maybe it did and GOAT used its magic to convince us that reality was really not real at all. Any way you slice it, GOAT is a very bizarre band that delivered a unique mix of psychedelia and an alternate mythos much in the way Christian Vander and Magma invented an entire new paradigm about the fictitious world of Kobaia. While a fairly modern band and the debut only unveiling its cloaked nature in 2012, WORLD MUSIC is a typical album's run of nine tracks and 37 minutes long.

It features a mix of psychedelic guitar fuzz, Afrorock conga playing, female singers delivering African vocal styles, freaky electronica and droning atmospheres. It's a groovy kinda dance music that evokes African ritualistic practices while unleashing hard rock guitar distortion, trippy bass lines and unrelenting rhythmic drive. The entire affair is made even more nuts by the fact that the members dress in distinct traditional garb from around the world including one member in a burka! Gimmicks aside the music is fairly straight forward and not as psychedelic as i had hoped judging from the cover. This is truly an eclectic blend of WORLD MUSIC from around the world but it's not as innovative as the mythologies surrounding the band have become.

This is an interesting album for sure but it boils down to fairly basic repetitive grooves, scattered vocal parts and a bit of guitar heft that occasional allows some fuzz soloing to occur. It's like King Gizzard & The Wizzard Lizard go Afro-rock on us and get all wild and woolly with their dressing habits. It's a fun piece of entertainment and all but it's not really engaging as a pure musical experience in a meaningful way other than serving as a louder than usual form of dance music that captures the essence of a greater ethnic stew. I would've loved to hear some Haitian voodoo chanting or other exotic trippy effects but the album is geared more toward an uninterrupted flow rather than offering any jarring surprises. It's OK but doesn't blow me away.