Van Goat

New Single from van goat

To Be Released: November 18th 2022.

Single Release shows:

PRESS PHOTOs

Van Goat, from left to right: Ben Einstein, Lindsay Alexis, Aidan Ward, Derek Burle, Taylor Moxon. Press photos taken by Liz Stumm.

Live PHOTOs

Live photos taken by Marcel Thiele

About the song:

Van Goat’s latest single arrives just in time for the holiday season. Without sounding anything like a holiday song, “Time of Year” contains many familiar elements of the genre. Its chorus sounds triumphant, with rousing chord changes, church organ, and singalong harmonies.

But “Time of Year,” like the season, is a rollercoaster - it starts off beautiful and then hits you hard. It begins with lofty hopes and expectations, and then before you know it you’re on the ground. In many ways, “Time of Year” is a kind of holiday song for those who couldn’t care less about the holidays. Singer Lindsay Alexis says ”Most of this song was written in a very sad mostly empty bar in SF while it rained outside.”

The single artwork matches this emotional mood. Matteo Marjoram (Epic Games, God of War Ragnarok), is the piece’s artist and a childhood friend of keyboardist Ben Einstein. The artwork’s color palette and scenery seems to recall a cheery holiday card; but if you look just a little closer, you’ll see that the warm glow of a fire is that of a destructive factory, its production line never-ending. And the snowy pastoral forest scene around it actually is a clearcut forest, devastated by human impact. Yikes!

Van Goat recorded “Time of Year” in a West Oakland basement with Chris Nishimoto (Jazz Mafia, Futurelics, My Evergreen Soul). Four out of the five members of Van Goat play guitar on the song, and yet it’s one of their quietest and most delicate recordings to date. 

You're rushing to catch a bus. The sidewalk is slick with rain and you step swiftly, cursing the fact that you left your raincoat on a different bus earlier that day. Whatever. As the next bus pulls into the stop, you can see the crush of people packing it to the gills. No one gets off the bus. For a split second you consider shouldering your way in, but no - you watch the bus leave, watch your confidence leave and stand in the rain until the wet garbage on the street is too disgusting to be near. You could say it's a rough day. You could say it's a rough month. You could say it's a rough winter. You could say, it's just this time of year.

Track credits:

Lead Vocals / Guitar / Trombone: Lindsay Alexis

Guitar / Vocals : Aidan Ward

Organ / Guitar / Vocals: Ben Einstein

Bass / Guitar/ Vocals : Derek Burle

Drums: Taylor Moxon

Recorded by Chris Nishimoto

Additional Recording by Ben Einstein

Mixed by Chris Hughes

Mastered by Piper Payne at Infrasonic Mastering

Contact email: vangoatband@gmail.com

European Booking: kurt.de.bont@telenet.be

• Genre: Indie Rock / Folk Rock / Americana

• Hometown: Oakland, CA

• Sounds like: Big Thief, Lake Street Dive, and Rilo Kiley