COMMUNE

There are some quite original facets to this sophomore release by Goat that literally leap into your ears. The humble traveller will right from the get-go be facing female vocals of the different kind. Shouting like a deranged teenager or a very young Renate Knaup, this girl spits out words - deliberately taunting you with every cute syllable. That same mischievous and playful feel seeps right through to everyone else involved - conjuring up an unbridled and youthful energy to Goat's sound that fits oh so beautifully well.

......and then you hear the guitar and it's unusual expression. It's a style of playing most commonly known as Tuareg blues (or Tishoumaren), the Moroccan flair. You sense it in the way the fingers rrrrrroll spiralling across the strings, like a genuine rock harp, much in the same way that John Weizierl used to riff during the early years of Amon Düül ll. Think Wolf City for reference. What this 'spiralling' effect has on the surrounding music is that it makes it twirl - like a meditating Sufi preacher making his way into the back of his mind by spinning his body at ferocious speeds.

Accompanying all of this is a rhythm section that is as comfortable playing in the style of old school rock n roll bands as they are doing funk and something akin to space disco coming from the insides of a tee-pee. Aside from the bass and drums you additionally get a furious percussion element to the mix. They rustle up the all important jungle vibe of this group. Instead of hiding in the back like normal congas and bongos tend to do, these guys have opted for the more in-your-face-approach ultimately planting a deep earthy note within the music. It feels raw and untamed because of this. Coupled together with the mosaic see-sawing guitars you wind up with a music that is tribal and wild at heart.

These cats never show their faces. They wear big ornamented masks at their concerts, which in turn are like these raging hypnotic Navajo parties with psychedelic light shows and strange colourful voodoo rituals. In fact, the band claims to hail from Korpilombolo, situated in the northern part of Sweden - up where the lingo starts sounding remarkably Finnish. According to the band, the city has had a history with black magic and voodoo ever since a presumably unknown witch doctor lived there.

This is most likely just old wives' tales, but it all ends up adding to the strange and altogether enigmatic reputation Goat has garnered. Now I know I've already succeeded in painting a picture of a drugged out psychedelic band that attaches exotic and abnormal fittings to their sound, yet the final product is about as easy to get into as a pair of old slippers. I kid you not. That is if you can handle the female shoutsinging.......yep I shouldn't have said that. No one wants shoutsinging on an otherwise exciting and infectiously funky record. It works though. It isn't avantguarde or purposely "difficult". It's zany, energetic and perfectly in tune with the spinning guitar patterns that constantly remind me of the Sufi preacher twirling around in the desert to the gentle tunes of the Arabian Funkadelic. Oh yes there's a real boom to this baby!

With a bellowing reverb adorning the production Commune removes itself ever so slightly from it's predecessor, though only a tiny bit. It still feels as if the whole thing was recorded live in the studio during an inspired séance.

It's an album you can dance to - especially during those funky boogie sections of 'Words' and the Krautrock tinged 'Bondye' that entices you deep into it's celestial groove.You can even sing along to it. The words and melodies all seem to slip so easily off the tongue, that you, at times, wonder if you're listening to revamped and entirely beefed-up nursery rhymes.

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