Goats and Gnods …
by Matthew Dyson
This month is all about collectives. Bands are for squares. I mean why bother putting an ad for a bass player in your local rehearsal studio when you can recruit the entire town into your band and preside over it like a cult leader? – And – before you dismiss the whole idea and mutter something about the Polyphonic Spree, rest assured that the current trend of sprawling tribes of musicians are decidedly darker than before. Gone is the saccharine pop and gaggle of grinning misfits in robes. Here, creeping up under your floorboards, are the doom laden experimentalists and mind warping psychedelic cosmonauts that are making 2013 disturbingly good.
Goat
When you think of Sweden, I bet you think of clean air and well-adjusted families of blondes, sat in saunas singing along to Abba. No? Good , that would make you a xenophobe. Still, only a maniac would associate this pleasant Scandinavian land with voodoo. Or big, hairy men and women clad in masks. Making ten minute, third eye opening psychedelic rock and ‘60 funk, backed by ritualistic African drumming. Well, that’s exactly what’s happening in Korpilombolo right now.
Thankfully, Goat have taken time out from scaring the heebee jeebies out of whoever stumbles into their village to put their unique brilliance onto an album, World Music. They’ve also got a new double A –side ‘Dream Building’ and ‘Stone Goat’ out on June 3rd in Europe on Rocket Recordings and June 4th on Sub Pop Records. And yes, I did say voodoo. But if they’re putting pins into a doll of the music industry until everything sounds this exciting , let’s leave them too it.
Album : World Music
Releases: Singles ‘Dream Building’ and ‘Stone Goat’ June 3rd in Europe on Rocket Recordings and June 4th on sup Pop Records.
Gnod
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Gnod are from Manchester, England – home of the Happy Mondays, Joy Division, The Stone Roses, Oasis and a big swaggering history of great music. Gnod, couldn’t give a f*ck. They’re more concerned with breaking our brains. These aren’t so much songs as unrelenting, stroke inducing drones. Each is full of menace and glorious, pounding electronics. The closest it comes to tying in with their forbearers are moments where it sounds like an instrumental Joy Division – only twice as dark and spun out.
They’re prolific too. Their last two Chaudelande LPs have just been re-released through Rocket Recordings. And they’ve set out on a European Tour. Go see them and happily lose your minds.
Albums: Chaudelande, out now on Rocket Recordings
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GOAT will actually be performing in Austin this weekend! Check out the AUSTIN PSYCH FEST
