*Loser edition vinyl LP is sold out. (10/07/16- 12:30pm PST)
Ina culture obsessed with content, saturation, and continual exposure, it’s rareto find artists who prefer to lurk outside of the public eye. Thomas Pynchon isperhaps the most notable contemporary recluse—a virtually faceless figure whooccasionally creeps out of hiding to offer up an elaborate novel steeped inhistory and warped by imagination—but for crate diggers and guitar mystics,Sweden’s enigmatic GOAT may qualify as the greatest modern pop-culture mystery.Who are these masked musicians? Are they truly members of the Arctic communityof Korpilombolo? Are their songs part of their isolated communal heritage?Their third studio album, Requiem, offers more questions than answers,but much like any of Pynchon’s knotty yarns, the reward is not in the untanglingbut in the journey through the labyrinth.
Westernexports may have dominated the consciousness of international rock fans for theentirety of the 20th century, but our increasing global awarenesshas unearthed a treasure trove of transcendental grooves and spellbindingriffage from exotic and remote corners of the planet. GOAT’s previous albums WorldMusic and Commune were perfect testaments to this heightenedawareness, with Silk Road psychedelia, desert blues, and Third World pop allserving as governing forces within the band’s sound. But GOAT’s strange amalgamisn’t some cheap game of cultural appropriation—it’s nearly impossible topinpoint the exact origins of the elusive group’s sound. The fact that theypledge allegiance to a spot on the periphery of our maps bolsters the nomadicquality of their sonic explorations. With Requiem, GOAT continue to rockand writhe to a beat beholden to no nation, no state.
GOAT’sonly outright declaration for Requiem is that it is their “folk” album,and the album is focused more on their subdued bucolic ritualism thanpsilocybin freakouts. But GOAT hasn’t completely foregone their fierycharms—tracks like “All-Seeing Eye” and “Goatfuzz” conjure the sultry heathenpulsations that ensnared us on their previous albums.
Perhapsthe most puzzling aspect of Requiem comes with the closing track“Ubuntu”. The song is little more than a melodic delay-driven electric pianoline, until we hear the refrain from “Diarabi”—the first song on their firstalbum—sneak into the mix. It creates a kind of musical ouroboros—an infinitecycle of reflection and rejuvenation, death and rebirth. Much like fellowrecluse Pynchon, rather than offering explanations for their strangetrajectories, GOAT create a world where the line between truth and fiction isso obscured that all you can do is bask in their cryptic genius.
