Earth Goat- Sex and Blood

Artist: Earth Goat
CD Title: Sex And Blood
Label: Fresh Fish Records
Reviewer: Matthew Johnson
Date: 12/15/05

The interesting thing about Australia’s Earth Goat isn’t that the trio is weird or noisy; it’s that in a lot of ways, they’re a surprisingly conventional pop band. Given the album title and the band’s name itself, you’d expect this to be brutal and horrifying, but it’s actually kind of a mellow rock album that edges its way into the experimental category by applying a sort of psychedelic industrial aesthetic. “1763, for example, is groovy, if minimal, with a basic arrangement of beats, voice and bass guitar, while “She’s A Fire” incorporates elements of noise via distorted string pads and guitar feedback, but still retains the verse and chorus structure of pop music. A cover of David Bowie’s “Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)” is faithful but unique, glam by way of garage noise, and “Astrolabe” subverts rock music with cut-up string loops and wavering male and female vocals. The most typically experimental moments come towards the end of the album with “One Of Us,” which consists of a repetitive vocal phrase layered over harsh electronic buzzes and interrupted by occasional bursts of percussive clanking, and “Daydream,” an extremely minimalist arrangement of dissonant ambient tones. More interesting, though, are the pieces that bring the pop bits and the noise bits together. “Every Reason In the World” plods along with a lazy machine rhythm while lead vocalist Kobe Corman sings falsetto, while album closer “Sublime Eyes” is a strange but lovely psychedelic keyboard ballad worthy of the Legendary Pink Dots. It’s hard to predict where Earth Goat is going, but fans of all sorts of offbeat music might find this album worthy of exploration.

Visit www.earthgoat.com for more information.