Goat Girl Perform Dreamy & Vibrant Post-Punk On Shimmering New Record

The London-based group Goat Girl sound just about instantly captivating on their compelling new full-length record On All Fours, which is available now via Rough Trade Records.

The band performs a kind of dreamy post-punk, with gently propulsive and richly vibrant rhythms that flow through their latest record. There’s somewhat of a shine in the band’s simmering and piercing tones, as though they’re capturing fleeting glimpses of sunlight from a surreal alternate world like that depicted on the cover art.

Goat Girl often sound a bit ethereal, mixing some of the vibes of a dreampop group into their music, but they ground their work in somewhat of an earthy and slightly smoky sound, like they’re performing a late-night set at a jazz club with a flickering neon sign poking through some fog outside.

The record feels quite exploratory, with a rich palette of dynamic flourishes, and via the consistent free-flowing energy that courses through the songs, On All Fours feels like a soundtrack for a dream of suddenly somehow floating up into a teeming — and slightly chilly — night sky full of stars, where there’s a chance for a peacefully clear look at rather broad areas down below.

As a whole, On All Fours feels quite peaceful — the group’s tempos often stay in the mid- to lower range, and the transitions between their diverse stylistic garnishes feel smooth. This smoothness remains in place throughout the experience as Goat Girl intertwine a subtle indie twang with splashes of stark exuberance. The record feels vibrant and subtly mesmerizing, like stepping into a world that the band has created.

The band’s instrumentals frequently gleam. On “Badibaba,” the record’s second track, rhythms seem to gently overflow their boundaries, pushing along while leaving plenty of breathing space to feel the breadth of the emotional experience. Indeed — across the entire record, there’s sometimes a somewhat soulful vibe in the music, with poignantly contemplative sonic journeys.

Meanwhile, tracks three and four — called “Jazz (In the Supermarket)” and “Once Again,” respectively — feature rather movingly orchestrated spikes in intensity, and elsewhere, like on track six (called “Sad Cowboy”), a brisker energy comes further into focus. That particular song features galloping rhythms with a thick twang in the sound right alongside some stark synths, and the brooding movement feels striking. Ultimately, every track seems to carry a wellspring of sound, providing an entrancing experience.

5/5 Stars

Listen to On All Fours below!