Requiem

In a culture obsessed with content, saturation, and continual exposure, it’s rare to find artists who prefer to lurk outside of the public eye. Sweden’s enigmatic GOAT may qualify as the greatest modern pop-culture mystery. GOAT’s only outright declaration for Requiem is that it is their “folk” album, and the album is focused more on their subdued bucolic ritualism than psilocybin freakouts. But GOAT hasn’t completely foregone their fiery charms—tracks like “All-Seeing Eye” and “Goatfuzz” conjure the sultry heathen pulsations that ensnared on their previous albums. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of Requiem comes with the closing track “Ubuntu”. The song is little more than a melodic delay-driven electric piano line, until we hear the refrain from “Diarabi”—the first song on their first album—sneak into the mix. It creates a kind of musical ouroboros— an infinite cycle of reflection and rejuvenation, death and rebirth. Much like fellow recluse Pynchon, rather than offering explanations for their strange trajectories, GOAT create a world where the line between truth and fiction is so obscured that all you can do is bask in their cryptic genius.

"The ritualistically anonymous GOAT return with a double album of psychedelia rendered primarily with acoustic elements. Though still veiled, they reveal more of their heart and personality than ever." Pitchfork

Tracklist

1. Union of Sun and Moon 
2. I Sing In Silence 
3. Temple Rythms
4. Alarms 
5. Trouble in the Streets 
6. Psychedelic Lover 
7. Goatband
8. Try My Robe
9. Its Not Me 
10. All-seeing Eye 
11. Goatfuzz 
12. Goodbye 
13. Ubuntu 
14. Union of Mind and Soul