Goat
Commune

Korpilombolo Part Two

We left them two years ago with a debut album that made many scream miracle, and that topped many year-end charts, both Italian and international. Whether it was a flash in the pan or a record that stands the test of time is still honestly hard to say. Personally, I listened to nothing else for six months: the mix of fuzz guitars, rhythms, and Afro-Asian imagery, ultra-kitsch costumes and hardly believable pre-pagan stories was too intoxicating. With a clearer mind, and with an open eye on the doors of objectivity, I no longer had the desire to listen to the album again, both due to the brief and massive obsessive listening, and because the rhythmic solutions and the atmospheres of the album sometimes became overly simple. Once a groove and a guitar riff was found, it was repeated for five minutes.

So, with not a little skepticism, I approached this “Commune”, the second effort of the Swedish combo. It's difficult to repeat in music, especially after sudden success, above all while essentially playing “old stuff” recombined in just slightly different ways. The risk of a copycat album was more than real; and at a quick and distracted listen, “Commune” leaves just that. A sensation of déjà vu, similar structures, the singer's howls at the moon, the fuzz guitars, and so on.

But incredibly, and after 5 or 6 listens, the album reveals its true strength. That primal power of psychedelia, which is the repetition that becomes a mantra and makes you instantly remember the tracks, without them having any particularly melodic embellishments. The first two tracks are impressive in this sense: “Talk To God” is a tribal dance, a simple yet focused African sabbath; “Words” is perhaps the most interesting track Goat has done so far, a sort of ethno-minimal garage shaken by fuzz guitar attacks. The general direction, compared to “World Music”, is perhaps the intention to focus on a certain mood instead of ranging across different musical registers. Drawing from a hit-and-miss ethnomusicology, I'd say India, a lot of India, and a bit of Sahara mixed with Southeast Asia. Also commendable is the choice of generally reduced track lengths (perfect the instrumental “To Travel The Path Unknown” and the 3-minute mini raga of “Hide From The Sun”). There are no lacking adrenaline-filled tracks such as “The Light Within,” a bouncing journey on the Ganges, from the Himalayas to New Delhi, and “Goatslaves,” almost too frenetic with its percussion and cowbell-based rhythm. The most successful experiment remains the introduction of male vocals together with the two derailing females, which in “Goatchild” opens up interesting musical horizons.

Ultimately, this is an album that perhaps lacks the previous record’s brain-shaking pieces, but to be honest, surpasses it in terms of cohesion of sound and long-term impact. “Commune” is a complete album from start to finish. And that's no small feat.