Goat’s effervescent debut album, World Music, was one of the landmark prog releases of 2012.
A rush of tribal percussion, lysergic weirdness, and chanted vocals, its mystique was heightened by a back story claiming the band were descendants of some lost Swedish outpost with a centuries-old tradition of voodoo worship. As well as keeping their true identities hidden behind stage masks and elaborate headgear, Goat were clearly fond of self-mythology. They’re still an enigmatic bunch and, thankfully, the music is just as inspired. If anything, Commune ups the ante further. The overarching theme appears to be the spirit world, which manifests itself in the ritualistic nature of Goatslaves and the buzzing meditations of The Light Within. It’s all fabulously wrought, and suggests Commune is the heir of Fela Kuti, Funkadelic and Flaming Lips. The two unnamed female singers again lead from the front, though the heavy wah-wah of Goatchild also features a doomy male voice. The breathless end result leaves you wondering why more bands don’t make music this great. The simple answer is, they can’t. Rob Hughes
