Review: GOAT – Headsoup

Collecting B-sides, singles, re-edits, and new material, GOAT‘s Headsoup is a great release for fans of the band and fans of wild psychedelic rock.

“The Sun the Moon,” for example was the B-side to the “Goatman” single. The alternate version of “Stonegoat” sounds thicker than the original, making it even more mind-altering. “Dreambuilding” is also chock-full of distorted guitars, and the wild hand percussion on it is a perfect yang to the guitars’ yin. “Dig My Grave” tones down the fuzz so it can add more reverb.

The re-edit of “It’s Time for Fun” almost becomes a krautrock track with its electro-beats and pulsing synthesizers. “Relax” is a loud, yet hypnotizing instrumental. The alternate take of “Union of Mind and Soul” is just as bouncy as the original. “The Snake of Addis Ababa” could probably charm a cobra out of a wicker basket with its entrancing guitar work and rhythm.

“Goatfizz” is another cool instrumental, reminding me of late 1970s / early 1980s background jazz you’d hear in a hotel lobby or on an obscure late night cable TV channel. The new edit of “Let It Burn” is as heavy as a Black Sabbath B-side. “Friday Pt. 1” is soft and mellow to balance out the previous track, with a soulful saxophone solo to boot. “Fill My Mouth” is, as you might imagine from the title, the naughtiest song GOAT has written – and one of their funkiest as well. I mean, holy crap, the flute breakdown on it alone is worth the price of admission. “Fill My Mouth” and the following track, the sexy, psychedelic “Queen of the Underground” were GOAT’s first new tracks in several years, and showed they were still at the top of their game.

Let’s hope there’s more new stuff to come, because Headsoup only made us GOAT fans hungrier.

Keep your mind open.

[Fill my subscription box.]

Published by

Nik Havert

I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.

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