Written by Tom Bedding
There was a little spill of magic from Brixton during the 2010’s within the indie scene of the U.K., with Goat Girl being one of the bands that have impressed from the London area. After the praise and success of their debut, it was interesting to see where the outfit would go after arriving onto the scene with such boldness and also basset, Holly Hole, joining and what nickname she was given!
‘One of those pests, pest from the west, drums on his chest’ is repeated throughout the slow burner but direct opener, ‘Pest’. Written during a ‘Beast From the East’ snowstorm, the band tackles racist traits within terms of issues that so happen to come from a certain place, for this it is the snow that comes in from Scandinavia/Arctic. The song begins in a way that you may expect from the band but the introduction of the synths halfway through, is a great indication on the new angles Goat Girl now have in their locker.
The climate crisis is a common theme on ‘On All Fours’ and the recent single, ‘Badibaba’, captures the dire tone of what the world is facing. Birthed through a jam where the girls swapped instruments, then chanting ‘badibaba’ hysterically, a synth hook was then created for a chorus that is both spooky and busy.
It brilliantly captures the tension and urgency that is needed to deal with Climate Change. ‘Carry on like we're protected, as if we're unaffected’ is sung as more instrumentation is added and as the song is coming to a close, the band finish by bashing everything together and we are left with an alien like siren.
We are then offered with a surprising but fitting instrumental, which is more like a sweaty and mid-tempo jam. ‘Jazz (in the Supermarket)’ has some really awesome horns within it, something that features aplenty on the record and overall, it impressively delivers the sleazy and slimy tones.
Mental Health is tackled on ‘Once Again’, with lyrics such as ’it never stays the same, the people always change, the thoughts that plague my brain’. However it is the slight boogie nature to it that I enjoyed. The mood is contributed by some casual licks from the guitar and the synth patterns feel like if, Blossoms, wanted to do a soundtrack to a classic Halloween TV-Special.
‘P.T.S Tea’ originates from a rude and unfortunate tea spilling incident for band member, Rosy Jones, however the jiving mood we are given from the keyboard intro is so much fun. Again the subtle horns are a beautiful touch and the percussion choices that are within mix are cool but do seem to return too easily on these collection of songs.
The heavy guitar that enters later in the song is a cool touch but does get lost amongst the production, it feels like some good ideas are waisted throughout the LP due to the need to keep with particular but for the most part, interesting production.
As we get closer to the second half of the record, we are given some of the popular singles we heard before the album release. First is the lead single, ‘Sad Cowboys’, which engages you straight away with an interesting, driving guitar and the vocal delivery is also a nice change of pace. The verses are the strongest part of the song, with the percussion choices being another highlight on the track.
Then people have left Earth on ‘The Crack’ and the darker delivery on this song is a nice change of pace at this point of the record. The gentle guitars do return amongst some familiar synth parts but the beautiful horns still don’t get tiresome, offering a glimmer of hope amongst the heavier tones of doom found on ‘On All Fours’.
After experiencing some of the strongest work at the mid way point, I felt like there was a need of a shift in ideas to keep the listener engaged and curious to see if that would happen. We are offered ‘Closing In’ which has a nice melodic nature, with some cute keyboard sounds to it. Despite the jarring guitar, that gives it a cool spin in the verses, it paces through nicely, simply leaving a nice taste in your mouth.
We do experience another highlight in ‘Anxiety Feels’, it has a small 90’s influence but does have a big impact on the overall feel of the song. Lyrics of ‘Staring out the window I know I should get out the house, make myself useful’ feels extremely relatable is today’s world, while the way the song concludes with the chorus and backing vocals, it closes in such a delightful way.
Another wild origin story is found again with ‘They Bite With You’, this time a case of scabies is the cause of this song. Backing vocals seem to be utilised well at this point of the record but at this stage, the ideas of the album are battling so hard to stay interesting and eventually leaves the last few songs feeling very hit or miss.
‘Bang’ has a lovely chord progression at the start and is more of a pop side to the alternative band. It feels all very light compared to the rest of the record and the instrumentation shines so well, the bass and the guitar work being both very solid. Sadly the mixed bag of ‘Where Do We Go’ has some great imagery within it and some over familiar instrumentation, potentially leaving you wondering if the album should have ended by now.
There is a light/poppier sounding Grunge guitar that starts the albums closer ‘A-men'. Tiring production and vocals arrive unfortunately and sets the mood of the whole track, it feels a bit waisted this conclusion. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lost of fantastic moments on Goat Girls second album, it may feel a bit sluggish at the end but 'On All Fours' cements the talents and wonder of the band.
Comments