The UK’s rebel quartet Goat Girl are still keeping their creativity political, and are more awake than ever on their new album ‘On All Fours.‘
With their producer Dan Carey (Fontaines D.C., Franz Ferdinand), they have developed a whole fictional world where roasting Boris Johnson, and exploring anxiety and climate change is a part of their spiritual journey. Each track tells a different story through sci-fi sounds and their abstract songwriting style. This record is the most personal they have been, a strong piece of art made by 4 beautiful souls – Lottie Cream (vocals), Rosy Bones (drums), Holly Hole (bass) and Ellie Rose Davies (guitar).
The whole album has an ongoing indie Halloween vibe attached to it – synthesisers, off-beat chords, analogue drum machines, falsettos and echos. It reminds you of sunny indie festivals, something we are close to forgetting ever existed. The record starts off with ‘Pest,’ which could be compared to the calm before a storm. Ironically, the band actually got snowed in their studio because of a snowstorm, inspiring this one. The upcoming tracks sneak in one by one, with ‘Badibaba’ making listeners want to shake their hips from side to side. For a new creative outlook, the members decided to swap instruments, revealing a new perspective on the band’s tracks. Each of the members had a fresh outlook on the instruments they were playing, resulting in a psychedelic masterpiece.
Goat Girl always succeeds in painting a picture, vision or a feeling infant of their listener. Using the ‘beep-beep’ cash checkout sound in ‘Jazz (In the Supermarket)’ or performing a whole tropical jungle party in ‘Once Again’ shows their talent and virtuosity. The use of mosquito sounds on ‘They Bite On You’ makes you feel as if in virtual reality, giving a placebo effect that your body is itching. Their lyricism sometimes reads almost like a riddle or a spell. The reasoning behind writing ‘P.T.S.Tea’ was Rosy’s accident on a ferry. A random guy spilt his hot tea all over them, and despite the pain, just left. It made the band cancel a few of their upcoming shows. On the meaning behind the lyrics, Rosy says: “Experiences I’ve had with obnoxious men thinking they have a right to question me about my sexuality and my gender identity. Just being rude, basically.” This will hit close to home for many, as Rosy themselves also identifies as non-binary.
‘PTSD from a hot cup of tea / Chug, chug, chug along on the ferry / Dumb man wouldn’t even look back at me, me.’
Another sensitive topic touched in this 54-minute journey is coping with anxiety on ‘Closing In’ and ‘Anxiety Feels.’ ‘Closing In’ talks about how anxiety can take different shapes and forms, and how it is a ghost who possesses and controls you. Interestingly, it is actually very upbeat and cheerful-sounding, which confuses you the same way anxiety does. ‘Anxiety Feels’ however, is a personal letter from Ellie herself.
“Anxiety Feels’ came out of a not very nice time for me where I was having panic attacks two or three times a day. Not really wanting to meet up with anyone socially or even leave the house to go to the shop.” – Ellie via Apple Music.
Everyone at this point would probably love to experience the dissection of Boris Johnson. Goat Girl are not afraid to express their opinions, mixing darkness and descriptive graphic content into their lyrics:
“I’m sure it stinks under his skin, Where pores secrete all the hate from within.”
Goat Girl would be a goldmine of a band, for fans of CocoRosie, Soley, Daughter or even Crystal Castles on parts where they get more electronic. Both ‘The Crack’ and ‘Sad Cowboy’ are also available to explore through music videos – both having a very creative direction and storyline. The artwork on the cover was made by Lottie’s boyfriend and his brother whilst listening to the development of the new album, injecting themselves into the project. ‘The Crack’ speaks about climate change, and Goat Girl owns it by dressing up in an animal-like costume and walking barefoot on the seaside. It feels very abstract and surreal in a way. The album’s lead track ‘Sad Cowboy’ must be the most fun song from the album to perform live. It has an electronic instrumental transition and a saturated composition towards the end of the track.
The album ends lightly, almost as the storm has come to an end, the wind shifts away and some sunshine rays come through the clouds again. This could be one of the Courage The Cowardly Dog adventures or just a weird dream.
