Goat - Let It Bleed (Live)

FOR THE LAST 18 months following the release of their debut album, World Music, Goat have built up an impressive reputation, their Funkadelic-meets-Faust-meets-Fela grooves appealing to stoner rock fans, punks, Afro-beat enthusiasts and indie chin-strokers. The band’s sound is embellished further by the self-made myth that surrounds the be-masked Swedish outfit who claim their music has been handed-down over the years from village elders. They also profess to hail from Korpilimbolo (population: approximately 529) in Northern Sweden where the inhabitants allegedly share a fascination with age-old voodoo rituals.

Whether any of Goat’s story is in fact true is irrelevant, largely because their music is strong enough not to require such affectation. Theirs is a sound that entrances, their rolling percussive drive overlain by interlocking Afro-centric guitar patterns and high-pitched vocal melodies.

Having spent part of last year touring, they recorded a set at London’s Electric Ballroom on July 27, 2013, now set to emerge on Rocket Recordings as Live Ballroom Ritual (out December 2).

This track, Let It Bleed, captures Goat in full flight. You are advised to stand well back from the head-shredding reed solo that comes in at 2.36 and which continues to buzz and build to a shattering crescendo. Goat on!