Bert86
New Member
Obligatory, "this is my first review" apology. Sorry if you've read this one before.
SubPop is quickly becoming one of my favorite record labels, not only because of the quality of the artists, but also because of the quality of their pressings. Today, I'm going to review the label's pressing of the October 2016 release from Swedish psychedelic/experimental rock band Goat, Requiem.
Before you read on, you might like Goat if you like the Golden Age psychedelic bands from the 60's like The Allen Parsons Project, the Yardbirds, or Syd Barrett. You might really like Goat if you like neo-psychedelic bands like Tame Impala, Deer Hunter, or Thee Oh Sees. If you don't like any of those bands, stop reading now, unplug your turntable, and go give it to someone at your local record store.
Goat's music is available on digital streaming services to try before you invest that wonderful shiny grooved PVC.
The Jacket
SubPop has yet to disappoint me with their packaging, and Requiem is no exception. There is a sunbeam-style window cut into the outer sleeve that lets you catch a glimpse of swirling watercolor clouds printed on the thick paper inner sleeve. The image on the second inner sleeve of the 4-sided album is similar, except with a silhouette of a masked dancer, her hands up in exaltation. Goat has created their own mythology and identity which is captured in the album's cover art and subsequent LP reproduction. The sun's rays suggest the joyous music inside. The color scheme, oranges, reds, and black suggest the elements of the album that are unnerving and difficult. The band is sprawled across the cover in strange costumes, like a Jodorowskian alternate reality that is equally playful and bizarre. Sure to impress anyone who pulls it off the shelf, this album almost dares them to put it on the turntable. If seen by a casual listener, they would likely give it a hard pass and dig for your copy of Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
The Music
The density of instrumentation on Requiem is what stands out the most. The anchor of all good psychedelia is there to guide us through the journey: guitar, drums, and bass, and the album favors acoustic iterations of each. Nothing is terribly technical or complex, and the character of the melodies are good-spirited and fun. The vocalist sings in both Swedish and English with a voice that is pixie-ish and very bright. I suspect her odd pronunciations are an intentional affectation, but I don't mind a bit. She acts as another instrument in the ensemble rather than our narrative guide, at least that's what some reefer head friend of mine told me, and he tends to be right about most things that pass through a phaser pedal.
As the album moves through extended sections of tripped out repetition, the jogging swirl of good psychedelic music, the appearance of new instruments is often subtle and layered. By turns, melodies also simply burst forth. The opening track has an outrageously catchy melody played on a recorder. Vibraslaps, tambourines, saxophones, djembes or something, bells, mandolins, claps, synths, xylophones, keys, and more -- all the kind of noise you might find expect to find in drug minds young and old. Rhythmically, there is something tribal and worldly, a sound welcome at whatever pagan ritual you have going on at your place on a given weekend, and as the listener is bounced through the longer passages until he or she feels a little uncomfortable, a riff, a voice, something that had been suspended in the gel of absurdity becomes solid, raucous even. It is fun, bold, and unapologetically experimental.
The Recording
My setup is midfi at best, so yours will no doubt get more out of the album. That said, the complex instrumentation makes Requiem a great exercise for any system. Reverb and midrange frequencies, especially, are captured with fidelity. Separation and detail are superb, despite the density of sonic information coming through the wires. Choose your favorite cartridge for acoustic music. Or, if you're like me, just use the one good cartridge you have, it doesn't really matter.
My pressing was without flaws, pops, whirrs, static, whistles, hums, or thinga-majigs. I can't listen to this album digitally ever again.
Final Impressions
I like this one a lot. Their first album, World Music, is also awesome. Goat joins the ranks of a truly fantastic neo-psychedelic wave, and I look forward to all of their new releases.
Rating: Totally worthwhile
SubPop is quickly becoming one of my favorite record labels, not only because of the quality of the artists, but also because of the quality of their pressings. Today, I'm going to review the label's pressing of the October 2016 release from Swedish psychedelic/experimental rock band Goat, Requiem.
Before you read on, you might like Goat if you like the Golden Age psychedelic bands from the 60's like The Allen Parsons Project, the Yardbirds, or Syd Barrett. You might really like Goat if you like neo-psychedelic bands like Tame Impala, Deer Hunter, or Thee Oh Sees. If you don't like any of those bands, stop reading now, unplug your turntable, and go give it to someone at your local record store.
Goat's music is available on digital streaming services to try before you invest that wonderful shiny grooved PVC.
The Jacket
SubPop has yet to disappoint me with their packaging, and Requiem is no exception. There is a sunbeam-style window cut into the outer sleeve that lets you catch a glimpse of swirling watercolor clouds printed on the thick paper inner sleeve. The image on the second inner sleeve of the 4-sided album is similar, except with a silhouette of a masked dancer, her hands up in exaltation. Goat has created their own mythology and identity which is captured in the album's cover art and subsequent LP reproduction. The sun's rays suggest the joyous music inside. The color scheme, oranges, reds, and black suggest the elements of the album that are unnerving and difficult. The band is sprawled across the cover in strange costumes, like a Jodorowskian alternate reality that is equally playful and bizarre. Sure to impress anyone who pulls it off the shelf, this album almost dares them to put it on the turntable. If seen by a casual listener, they would likely give it a hard pass and dig for your copy of Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
The Music
The density of instrumentation on Requiem is what stands out the most. The anchor of all good psychedelia is there to guide us through the journey: guitar, drums, and bass, and the album favors acoustic iterations of each. Nothing is terribly technical or complex, and the character of the melodies are good-spirited and fun. The vocalist sings in both Swedish and English with a voice that is pixie-ish and very bright. I suspect her odd pronunciations are an intentional affectation, but I don't mind a bit. She acts as another instrument in the ensemble rather than our narrative guide, at least that's what some reefer head friend of mine told me, and he tends to be right about most things that pass through a phaser pedal.
As the album moves through extended sections of tripped out repetition, the jogging swirl of good psychedelic music, the appearance of new instruments is often subtle and layered. By turns, melodies also simply burst forth. The opening track has an outrageously catchy melody played on a recorder. Vibraslaps, tambourines, saxophones, djembes or something, bells, mandolins, claps, synths, xylophones, keys, and more -- all the kind of noise you might find expect to find in drug minds young and old. Rhythmically, there is something tribal and worldly, a sound welcome at whatever pagan ritual you have going on at your place on a given weekend, and as the listener is bounced through the longer passages until he or she feels a little uncomfortable, a riff, a voice, something that had been suspended in the gel of absurdity becomes solid, raucous even. It is fun, bold, and unapologetically experimental.
The Recording
My setup is midfi at best, so yours will no doubt get more out of the album. That said, the complex instrumentation makes Requiem a great exercise for any system. Reverb and midrange frequencies, especially, are captured with fidelity. Separation and detail are superb, despite the density of sonic information coming through the wires. Choose your favorite cartridge for acoustic music. Or, if you're like me, just use the one good cartridge you have, it doesn't really matter.
My pressing was without flaws, pops, whirrs, static, whistles, hums, or thinga-majigs. I can't listen to this album digitally ever again.
Final Impressions
I like this one a lot. Their first album, World Music, is also awesome. Goat joins the ranks of a truly fantastic neo-psychedelic wave, and I look forward to all of their new releases.
Rating: Totally worthwhile
