Second effort ‘On All Fours’ instantly feels like a stronger brew. More expressive and never playing safe.
The band sound more unified than ever, able to spin strange sonic tales all the better as a result. A triumph.
It’s a well ripened sequel to a discerning debut, packed out with a careering unpredictability that demands to be heard when it would be easier not to listen.
On All Fours proves Goat Girl can easily transcend any pigeonholing that may be thrust upon them. It’s an assured outing and one that will prove to be one of the more special records we will hear this year.
This is Goat Girl doing what they do best – emphasising, experimenting and expanding their musical horizons. Consider those expectations fulfilled.
Though On All Fours is a little less rough around the edges than their previous feat, it demonstrates the exploratory and high-spirited nature of the band’s essence.
On All Fours is the sound of a young band willing to take risks and expand their sonic palette and whilst it sounds less confrontational than their debut it’s every bit as innovative and compelling.
The brilliance of On All Fours is how multifaceted it is musically.
‘On All Fours’ doesn’t totally rewrite the book, but there’s a new concision to Goat Girl’s sound, an urgency that stems from personal as well as global upheaval.
It seems appropriate to start 2021 with a record that captures the anxious energy of not knowing exactly what’s coming next.
While it may not be as immediate and in-your-face as the debut, 'On All Fours' is a record that hits harder and holds infinitely more weight behind it.
What we have on Goat Girl's On All Fours are some hazy but deeply unsettling observations, carried along effortlessly on a bed of delirious voices, sailing over music quieter, slicker, and tighter than that on their debut.
Both nervier and more confident than their debut, On All Fours is a huge step forward from a band that's well-equipped to bring post-punk's legacy into the future.
On All Fours is undoubtedly an intense listen, with its blistering harmonies and Pendlebury’s low murmur.
Though its title suggests burning out and giving up entirely, ‘On All Fours’ winds up channeling this helplessness into something vaguely hopeful and more experimental.
On All Fours exists in a queasy, half- awake state that feels like it could slip into a nightmare at any moment.
Taken as a whole, On All Fours is an impressive balancing act, creating something fresh from the group’s diverse influences, and managing to remain subversive even while it embraces Technicolor production techniques.
This is proper modern pop music: fierce and intelligent in its explorations, defiant and cool in its tone. Wondrous.
Londoners have kept the spirit of their previous lyrics, concentrating on issues like climate change and mental health, but On All Fours proves more challenging and, ultimately, rewarding than the immediacy of songs on their debut.
Three years after their self-titled debut, London four-piece Goat Girl come back from illness and political upheaval and replace their easy-going vibe with a fearlessness to let their music and muses take them, and us, wherever they want.
This is a good, and sometimes great album, that feels like it’s a few tracks short of being a masterpiece.
On All Fours feels like a transitional record, but in the best sense of that term. This band’s possibilities remain wide open.
Goat Girl’s second album evokes the dreamier side of post-punk ... Listening to On All Fours is like wandering in a cool thrift shop.
On All Fours is by turns more sinister but with a more danceable melodic sensibility outside the edges.
Given how good over half of On All Fours is, it is nuts that so much of the backend of the album was even published. Despite this, it has a higher proportion of highs than lows.
Some of this magnificently sullen band’s edges have been filed down; their strides into left field could have been more decisive.
Goat Girl remain a band who are interesting idea but who seem to be incapable of actually bringing that idea to an attention-grabbing and exciting fruition.
The psychedelic post-punk sound on display here leads to some great moments, but as a cohesive project it does leave a lot to be desired, as there are a lot of disjointed aspects to this album sadly.
Standout: Sad Cowboy
favs: Bang, Badibaba, P.t.s.Tea, Jazz(In the supermarket)
Least fav: The Crack
Upon my first couple of listens I found this a little soupy and muddled even for psychedelia and couldn’t get a good read on things, I’m glad that I remained patient.
The grunge-like approach at the start ‘Pest’ sets you up for the expectation of something more like ‘Porridge Radio’, but underneath some edm flurries around with synth textures buried another layer below that, and while ‘Sorry’ may have overreached on their ambitious latest EP ... read more
Starts off in a sprint, but kinda slows down by the end. This feels like one leg was cut off of this animal. Still good album, though.
▲ = Pest, Sad Cowboy, The Crack, They Bite on You
▬ = Badibaba, Jazz, Once Again, P.T.S.Tea, Closing In, Anxiety Feels, Bang, Where Do We Go, A-Men
▼ =
1 | Pest 4:02 | 66 |
2 | Badibaba 4:11 | 71 |
3 | Jazz (In the Supermarket) 4:34 | 64 |
4 | Once Again 4:16 | 68 |
5 | P.T.S.Tea 3:43 | 59 |
6 | Sad Cowboy 5:17 | 76 |
7 | The Crack 3:12 | 65 |
8 | Closing In 3:35 | 67 |
9 | Anxiety Feels 3:39 | 66 |
10 | They Bite on You 3:43 | 68 |
11 | Bang 4:27 | 68 |
12 | Where Do We Go? 4:14 | 73 |
13 | A-Men 5:33 | 76 |
#1 | / | Sound Opinions: Greg Kot |
#7 | / | Sound Opinions: Jim DeRogatis |
#20 | / | Piccadilly Records |
#33 | / | The Forty-Five |
#37 | / | Dork |
#38 | / | The Guardian |
#46 | / | Far Out Magazine |
#50 | / | MondoSonoro |
#51 | / | PopMatters |
#59 | / | Rough Trade (UK) |