Song of the Day: Goat - Dreambuilding

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. In celebration of Sub Pop’s Silver Jubilee, KEXP is featuring songs exclusively from Sub Pop artists this week. Today’s song is “Dreambuilding” by Goat from the 2013 single Dreambuilding on Sub Pop.

Goat - Dreambuilding (MP3)

One of the year's most immediately striking and unique bands, Goat's feverish, acidic psychedelia combines influences from all over the Earth, and if their mythology is to be believed, maybe another world, too. Ostensibly originating from Korpilombolo - a town in northern Sweden that, according to legend, was home to a witch doctor who cursed the town as he fled from Christian crusaders - the band is comprised of three core members (two of whom remain unidentified) and an unknown number of other contributors. Since the band's emergence from local infamy - they refer to their live performances as "rituals" and have noted the influence of local voodoo traditions on their music - earlier this year, a fascinating interview with The Quietus and a show-stopping performance at Glastonbury (see below) have only solidified their reputation as a mysterious, shadowy collective. The band's newest release, the "Dreambuilding/Stonegoat" single, continues down the musical path set by their debut, the aptly titled World Music.

Clocking in at just under three minutes, "Dreambuilding" is somewhat more direct than most of the group's previous material, but it's all the more stronger for it. A lightning-sharp guitar riff and shouted chorus vocals storm out of the gate, and standard pop structure (including a section for a guitar solo) make "Dreambuilding" is probably the most conventional thing they've released at this point, but for a band that makes The Knife look normal, that's not saying much. Tense, explosive, and enrapturing, "Dreambuilding is like a good version of a bad acid trip.

Goat are off the road at the moment, and don't have any tour dates (save for one festival appearance) posted, but if they announce any more "rituals" in the future, you'll find those dates on their website and Facebook. Below, watch the band's absolutely mesmerizing Glastonbury performance from last month ("Dreambuilding" starts at 23:40):