Like the band themselves, Goat fans are a mysterious bunch. Though not immediately spottable as, say, metalheads flocking to shows in their battle jackets, these gig-goers reveal their kinship instead via obscure head nods, whether its clothing printed with mushrooms, archaic pagan symbols or other psychedelic motifs relating to the Swedish collective’s outlandish world. They identify as folklore enthusiasts, admirers of the weird and, largely, people who appreciate listening to the kind of music that you can dance to. Music that shakes the soul and enlivens the spirit.
Watching Goat tonight at their sold-out show at the Troxy carries this spirited feeling; from the moment they appear - their eccentric costumes casting cartoonish silhouettes - to their grand finale, they produce a primal, free-flow of noise, powered by a mystical energy that colours the set in giddy, infectious joy.
Firstly attempting to blow off the cobwebs from the crowd’s dancing shoes - however mildly - is countryfellows MaidaVale, who play a number of songs from their latest release, Sun Dog, its indie breeziness proving to be markedly less invigorating than anything they’ve released before. Unfortunately, this new coolness translates to the energy of their performance tonight. It’s a little too laid-back, with the psych rock smacker Gold Mind - from 2018's Madness Is Too Pure - arriving far too late in the set to really demonstrate to the room just how brilliant MaidaVale can be.
And then there’s Goat. Like a heavy trip, they’re an experience with no respite, their arrival signalling that it’s time to strap in, let yourself loose and give in to instinct. Looking as eye-catching as ever, they don sparkly tasselled capes, carnivalesque masks and headdresses, as though conjured straight from an episode of The Mighty Boosh. It’s a wardrobe that encapsulates the wonderful, colourful life-force behind their sound.
Throughout the evening, the band are a hypnotic whirlwind of grinding wah-wah licks, swirling Jimi Hendrix solos and frisky, shamanic percussion. They do what any credible psychedelic band knows how to do with ease: stir their crowds into trance, but even amidst the haze, it never muddies into one long, repetitive flurry.
Showcasing tracks that span their weird and wonderful, eclectic back catalogue, as well as from this year's self-titled new album, with a flick of a switch, opener One More Death zaps the space with electricity, as the two anonymous frontwomen begin hopping continuously, wildly shaking their maracas and tambourines to the beat. Another new release follows with the slinky Goatbrain, before we’re taken to the fuzz-drenched number Goatfuzz, its zig-zagging Egyptian guitar riff calling to mind Black Sabbath and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. Later on, the porny, hip-thrusting groove of psych-metal cracker Soon You Die captures the hedonistic mood with the tongue-in-cheek lyrics 'soon you die, but don't you cry, 'cause you still got time to party'.
And party we do, the sprightly momentum rolling forward on a tight, rapid course, as Goat’s funk-tinged fusion of pagan rock, world music, afrobeats, and tantric psychedelia proving to be the ultimate combination for a night of dizzying dance-filled fun.
To top the excitement off, there’s even a double encore, with a number of fans sadly missing the final track, Goat’s crowning number Run To Your Mama, under the impression that the show’s all over. The remaining audience, initially with one foot turned to the exit, hurry with animated faces back to the front of the room, diving into an elated mass of movement. The mystical psychedelic Swedes close their sonic ceremony how they started it, immersed fully in the heady power of their music. With no secret third encore waiting to delight us even more, it then feels somewhat unfair to walk back out onto the dark streets of London, to the normality of a far less vibrant world.
