Album Review: Spacegoat, Superstition
Monterrey, Mexico’s Spacegoat released their debut full-length, Superstition, in late 2016 as a self-issued digital outing comprised of 10 songs running over 50 minutes long, and set about building a following on stages in their home country to support. The release follows a well-received self-titled 2012 EP that introduced the classic-style sound of the four-piece and in particular the powerful vocal presence of guitarist Gina Rios, whose work indeed acts as a feature across Superstition as well, highlighted once more on a March 2020 limited vinyl issue — purple LP; 300 pressed — through Germany’s Electric Magic Records, the imprint helmed by Christian Peters of Samsara Blues Experiment.
The two bands shared the stage in 2018 in Monterrey, and obviously Spacegoat made an impression. Reasonably so. The LP edition of Superstition drops the track “Astral” from the digital release in order to obtain a more vinyl-ready 46-minute runtime, but its nine-song stretch is still more than enough opportunity for the band to showcase their craft, as guitarist Miguel Rios, bassist Rigo Vigil and drummer Rey Fraga back Gina‘s soulful approach to construct tracks of well-made classic-style heavy, fluid in its unfolding but largely straightforward despite some flourish of psychedelia and a jaunt like “The Wooden Path,” which calls to mind the lucid strum of acoustic Zeppelin.
Less cult rock than one might expect given the cover art and the title hinting at things-not-quite-on-kilter, Superstition packs a healthy dose of doom rock into its proceedings, beginning with the the rolling midtempo groove led by the two guitars on “Doomensional,” which is almost surprising in how fuzzy it isn’t. Not that Spacegoat don’t have distortion or tonal presence, but it comes through much clearer in the recording than one might expect, playing up the band’s classic rock roots rather than any strict adherence to heavy-style genre tenets or even doom itself, though they remain undeniably a heavy band in style and purpose.
At the same time, neither are they retro or overly stylized when it comes to “performing” classic rock — they don’t attempt a vintage production, and their tones, while not unnatural, brim with a modern fullness. It may be that the Rioses, Vigil and Fraga are using this collection in order to search out a niche for themselves in terms of sound, to find some place in between the intersection of one microgenre and another, either consciously or not, but I’d suspect it comes simply from an impulse of wanting to sound more like themselves than any other single band, and that in itself is admirable. They shift into a speedier tempo on second track “Transmuta” and are no less at home than in the comfortable “Doomensional,” and finish their opening salvo with “As We Land,” with the drums holding back during the verses to kick in with the arrival of one of the record’s more memorable hooks and the build that caps.
The title-track follows as the first of four inclusions over six minutes long spaced out over the remainder of Superstition, initially quiet but foreboding in a way that telegraphs the kick in sonic heft that arrives shortly before two minutes in. That quiet/loud tradeoff plays out again and the more voluminous spirit carries Spacegoat through the end of the song, with fading residual tones giving way to silence and “Purple Sand” at the presumed end of side A. At 6:06, it is a highlight of Miguel Rios‘ guitar work, with semi-psychedelic spaciousness that adds to the depth provided by the bottom end of bass in the mix, a solo starting at about 4:15 echoing out in soundscape fashion effectively ahead of a final chorus.
Indeed, “The Wooden Path” has an organic feel made all the more resonant by its foundation of acoustic guitar, and its placement before “Erase the Sun” — arguably the heaviest and inarguably the most Sabbathian of the riffs to be had on Superstition can only be purposeful. There’s a bit of that solo echo in “Erase the Sun” as well, if perhaps not as emphasized as on “Purple Sand” as the vocals soon return to top it, but adds to the Iommi vibe as the longest song on the album moves into its second half, a bit of effects treatment on Gina‘s vocals too putting one in mind of earlier Alunah‘s forest worship, especially with “The Wooden Path” immediately preceding.
The two songs, as the start of side B, would seem to indicate a shift in purpose from some of the first half of the album’s more rocking fare, and even without “Astral” to further the cause, that’s how the rest of the offering plays out to some degree, even as “Sacred Mountain” finds itself nestled into Graveyardy swing operating at a tight, concise 3:39 in a seeming echo to the mission of “Transmuta” earlier, Fraga‘s drums shoving the song through its first minute-plus before a temporary slowdown allows everyone to catch their breath ahead of the next verse.
They finish quick and unfold the doom-blues of “Sleeping Hours” (6:48) as the closer to pay off all prior hints toward atmosphere in the songwriting, with a quiet and patient initial progression shifting gradually toward its first volume surge (just after two minutes in) and a satisfyingly soulful lead once that distortion has receded. Vocals in layers and a final thrust of tone brings the last march of “Sleeping Hours” to a head, and it’s another surprise that Spacegoat have in store for those who make their way through the LP, considering how much of the band’s focus throughout is on straight-ahead execution. With that in mind, their departure at the finish offers one more means by which to glimpse their potential, the abundance of which is the underlying message of the album as a whole.
It’s been over three years since Superstition was initially released, and Spacegoat haven’t been idle in that time in terms of playing shows. I haven’t seen word of a follow-up to this debut, but if such a thing might be in the works on any level, the Electric Magic LP only gives those who heard it digitally and those who didn’t a chance to get introduced ahead of that inevitable next step from the band, and with the quality of the work and performances they bring to it, it’s likely to find fervent welcome among the listeners who chase it down.
Spacegoat, Superstition (2016)
Electric Magic Records on Thee Facebooks
Electric Magic Records website
Tags: Electric Magic Records, Mexico, Monterrey, Spacegoat, Spacegoat Superstition, Superstition
