Swedish cultists Year of the Goat are getting ready to release their new seven-incher Song of Winter this Friday, Dec. 9, via Napalm Records. They made their debut in 2015 through the same imprint with their second full-length, The Unspeakable, and with the leadoff A-side of the single, they’re moving forward from that album toward their next one and an early-2017 push that will find them on the road in Jan./Feb. alongside countrymen/labelmate doomers The Order of Israfel and Norwegian heavy-hitters Tombstones, keeping their momentum going from the last few years and perhaps making sure the proper demons are exorcized and/or represented in new material before they hit the studio to bring their third album to fruition.

One can hear traces of the original version of “Song of Winter” in Year of the Goat‘s version. Released by Parisian singer/actress/model Francoise Hardy on 1969’s One-Nine-Seven-Zero, it has a duly haunting melody bolstered by the Norrköping six-piece’s arrangement of guitar and Mellotron and a light, poetic simplicity to the lyrics that speaks to the era from which it comes and resonates even now, the better part of half a century later. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for any song that features lines like, “I’m a misty rainbow.” In any case, “Song of Winter” earns its art deco cover, and if it’s offering a glimpse at where Year of the Goat might be headed, then the modern sensibility they bring to the classic structure bodes well to say the least. Presumably we’ll see how it all works out sometime before the end of 2017.

The band offers some insight on “Song of Winter” under the lyric video, which you’ll find below. Also down there are the dates for the aforementioned tour, should you happen to be or find yourself in that part of the world when it’s happening.

Please enjoy:

Year of the Goat, “Song of Winter” lyric video

Year of the Goat on “Song of Winter”:

“For many years Francoise Hardy has been part of our playlist while on the road. As soon as ‘Song of Winter’ played, the thought that we really should do a cover of it at some point always presented itself. Lyrically we find it going very well with the theme of our first album and also with the one we’re planning at the moment. The B-side on the other hand lyrically draws more towards our second album, The Unspeakable. One could probably say that the wonderful and talented Francoise Hardy is helping us build a bridge between our last album and the one to come.”

Year of the Goat, “Song of Winter” limited gold 7″
1. Song of Winter (Side A
2. Strange Shadows (Side B)

Strictly Limited Napalm Records Mailorder Edition to 200 Copies in GOLDEN Vinyl. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE VIA THE NAPALM RECORDS MAILORDER AND ONLINE STORE.

Year of the Goat European tour w/ The Order of Israfel & Tombstones:
28.01.17 DE – Berlin / Badehaus
29.01.17 DE – Osnabrück / Bastard Club
30.01.17 DE – Hamburg / Hafenklang
31.01.17 DE – Wiesbaden / Schlachthof
01.02.17 NL – Arnhem / Willemeen
02.02.17 UK – London / Underworld
04.02.17 TBA
06.02.17 CH – Olten / Coq D’Or
07.02.17 IT – Milano / Lo Fi
08.02.17 DE – Munich / Backstage
09.02.17 AT – Vienna / Viper Room
10.02.17 DE – Leipzig / UT Connewitz
11.02.17 DE – Siegen / Vortex

Year of the Goat is:
Thomas Sabbathi – vocals, guitar
Jonas Mattsson – guitar
Don Palmroos – guitar
Fredrik Hellerström – drums
Joona Hassinen – bass
Pope – mellotron, vocals

Year of the Goat at Napalm Records

Year of the Goat on Thee Facebooks

Tags: Napalm Records, Norrköping, Song of Winter, Sweden, Year of the Goat, Year of the Goat Song of Winter

This entry was posted on Monday, December 5th, 2016 at 9:18 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.