South London indie band Goat Girl produced a grounded post-punk debut back in 2018. Now, with Speedy Wunderground maestro Dan Carey on production duty, they have taken up psychedelia to portray both a broken world and a utopian vision.
‘On All Fours’ features dream sequences and bouts of growing discomfort. Take the opener Pest’s desire to creep and tiptoe through foreboding murkiness—it’s enough to make you feel a slight sense of unease.
Yet in an instant it is replaced by the increasing flutters of a synthesiser. Lead single Sad Cowboy goes all in on the psych, and is a true moment of escapism. It puts a filter over the world in front of you, its keys making the rain outside appear acidic.
Once Again is equally satisfying. The sea washes around in the background before eventually pushing itself to the fore, with the band left floating on a neon tide. The Crack is a snap back to reality, its motorik, abrasive riffs inescapable as we are warned that fighting a storm is pointless.
But as much as ‘On All Fours’ channels a sound that is otherworldly it is based squarely in reality. The band fit in their politics in a way that is not entirely explicit (there’s mention of “a pest from the west”) but there are nods to the gnawing effects of capitalism and discussions of identity and mental health.
Of all the issues, the environment is most prominent, especially concerning human habits and ignorance. A mantra that the band never specifically state but certainly allude to in their lyrics is that the world around us should be cherished, and that we need to stop pretending that our actions do not have significant effects. ‘On All Fours’ is as entrancing as it is uneasy.
Goat Girl Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue September 14 2021 - BRISTOL Trinity Centre
Wed September 15 2021 - LONDON Islington Assembly Hall
Thu September 16 2021 - BIRMINGHAM Mama Roux's
Sat September 18 2021 - DUBLIN Whelans
Mon September 20 2021 - LIVERPOOL Phase one
Tue September 21 2021 - GLASGOW SWG3
Wed September 22 2021 - MANCHESTER Gorilla
Fri September 24 2021 - BRIGHTON Concorde 2
Sat September 25 2021 - SOUTHAMPTON Loft
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