Goat - Oh Death (2022)

 Invigorated by forces we can only guess at the origins of, ‘Oh Death’ is a party to which all are welcome. Blithely waving away easy classification, these heat-hazed serenades are just as comfortable in the headspace of vicious ‘70s funk as they are in zesty ZE records post-punk. Folk-haunted incantations and free jazz skronk here find common ground, buoyed by relentless forward motion and raucous energy.

All of the above is locked into a delirious gnostic groove that threatens to throw the whole shebang spiraling into orbit. This is an auditory realm where seemingly anything can happen, and the uplifting incandescence of ‘Oh Death’ only multiplies in potency by taking in Thin Lizzy-style twin guitar harmonies (‘Blow The Horns’) a fearless-to-ridicule Antmusic stomp (‘Do The Dance’) and Eddie Hazel style paintstripping fuzz/wah (the opening ‘Soon You Die’) along the way.

Yet amidst this cornucopia of delights, this record sounds like no one else but Goat. Evangelical elan does battle with reckless insouciance, Vocal mantras form righteous calls to arms amidst the dancefloor-friendly fury. Yet whilst dealing in the desert-blues drift of ‘Passes Like Clouds’ or the Tom Tom Club-esque global rhythms of ‘Remind Yourself’, ‘Oh Death’ is driven by a supernatural charge that unifies, invigorates and transcends borders, whether geographical, musical, or between this world and the next.

In the hands of these sages and soothsayers, this is just the beginning. Goat Is ‘Oh Death’, Long Live Goat.

Available on Rocket Recordings | Levitation | Fuzz Club