Rock Sound Issue 158
'Probably
one of the oddest records you'll hear this month but no less great for
it, this lil' slice of voodoo-obsessed weirdness features two tracks
that merge spiralling psych rock and giddy afrobeat influences to
startling effect.'
8/10
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Norman Records
"The
preorders have gone nuts with this one so I’ve been pretty intrigued to
see what the fuss is all about over this debut single from Sweden’s
Goat. On the A side we’ve got ‘Goatman’, with bouncy tribal drums and
repetitive chant-like vocals over quite basic, minimal, filthy bass and
guitar with a liberal splash of wah. It’s more upbeat than I expected
from a record with purports to be influenced by the Voodoo history of
their home town of Korpolombolo (how much truth lies in these claims
remains to be seen). It’s reminding Phil a bit of Dungen but I’d put it
more in with that new youthful neo-psych set like Hookworms and the
Dalai Lama Rama Fa Fa Fa. Flip it and things get a bit freakier with
‘The Sun’ and ‘The Moon’, which run seamlessly into one another with
more of the chanty vocals and repetitive beats and garagey guitars which
are once again heavy on the wah, with the overall feel. There’s some
flute going on here too, and the pace is pretty frantic. It’s great how
they’re taking these normally-serious sounds of ritualistic psych-folk
and injecting them with a welcome shot of youthful vitality and
enthusiasm. This side, my favourite of the two, is like Jethro Tull gone
post-punk with its spidery guitar and whirling flute flurries. Great to
see some youth and exuberance back in psych rock again!"
5/5
_______________________________________________________________________
Shindig Magazine
"Goat
supposedly stem from the tiny Swedish village of Korpolombolo (a
settlement that practiced voodoo before being burned out by the
crusaders). Dressed in masks in a suitably satanic promo pic a
similarity to acts like Gwar emerges, but rather than dealing in
monstrous forms of metal Goat however trade in a cinematic rock gumbo
parts Performance, Dr John, Ruth Copeland's sleazy ’70s voodoo grooves and the put together afro rock of
the Demon Fuzz album. That said, the production is quite contemporary
and elements of such ’80s noise droners as Loop can be picked out by a
discerning ear, drawing closer comparisons to fellow Rocket acts.
This
then is clearly the product of likeminded hipsters akin to the muse of
Votel, Cherrystones and co. And no, it's not a bad vibe either. It's
just that the real sense of both the horned one and the tunes of
pioneering dark arts groovers like Graham Bond is evidently missing."
