Goat - Stonegoat/Dreambuilding 7" single

2013, Rocket Recordings, LAUNCH058

A: Stonegoat
AA: Dreambuilding

I've been meaning to write about Goat, the Swedish tribal voodoo hippie world funk collective, since the conception of this blog. Their album World Music released in 2012 has to be one of the most original records I've encountered in many years, whilst an album's worth of remixes of "Run For Your Mama" spread over two 12" Record Store Day 2013 releases are also worthy of their own blog item. However, for this particular blog post, I am going to focus on Goat's brand new, hot-off-the-press, double A-side single Stonegoat/Dreambuilding. For the serious collector there are actually three distinct pressings of this single, as it has already been released by Stranded Records in Sweden on 12" white vinyl, and by Sub-Pop Records in the USA on 7" black vinyl. The releases also differ in that the Swedish and USA editions both have "Dreambuilding" on Side 1 and "Stonegoat" on side 2, but the UK release has reversed this.

My copy is the UK release from Rocket Recordings (distributed by Cargo Records), and is a 7" single on green vinyl... which was weird because the press releases I've seen for this record said it was going to be pressed onto purple vinyl (which would have been a better match for the sleeve artwork). I couldn't tell you whether this was a last minute colour change, or if purple vinyl copies also exist. [EDIT: according to the Rocket Recordings blog, there were 200 copies pressed on white vinyl and 800 on purple vinyl. No mention is made of green vinyl.]

But never mind the packaging, what's the music like? Those familiar with World Music would have some idea what to expect. Plenty of tribal-style percussion and drumming, frenzied half-chanted/half-sung female vocals, and some glorious fuzz guitar. "Stonegoat" is a slice of tribal psychedelia informed by Led Zeppelin, with a 1960s fuzztone rhythm guitar overlaid with with an insistent guitar/bass riff before Goat's priestesses chime in with a semi-deranged vocal delivery. And - as if all that fuzz guitar wasn't already enough - in kicks a seriously fuzzed-out guitar solo, and with that it's all over and done and the stylus hits the run-out grooves at the centre of the record.

"Dreambuilding" is swiftly propelled along by an urgent harmonised wah-wahed guitar riff over an articulate fuzz bass, punctuated by the priestesses' almost-childlike vocals and a myriad of crazed percussion. The whole thing feels like a highly agitated voodoo ritual ceremony, the culmination of which is another blissed-out guitar solo. Once again the song is over far too quickly, with the listener being left feeling they are the survivor of a unexpected hurricane which has just passed overhead, and clinging to the wreckage of their auditory senses.

Currently available from Cargo Records. The other editions I mentioned may still be available.