London post-punk four-piece Goat Girl were regulars at Brixton’s The Windmill in their early days, gigging alongside acts like Fat White Family and Shame and carving out a name for themselves as proponents of edgy, enticing and dangerous music that didn’t pull any punches. Two days after the UK’s Brexit referendum, they signed a deal with Rough Trade, unleashed a flurry of singles, and the hype began to grow.

2018’s self-titled debut album was a dizzying, riotous affair that documented some of the murkier elements of London life, and positively aimed a sledgehammer at certain targets. Creep famously saw singer and guitarist Lottie Pendlebury threaten to smash in the head of a leering stranger on a train, while Burn The Stake took aim at “the dead weights, zombie state”. It was bitter, it was twisted, and it was brilliant.

With their new album, On All Fours, though, Goat Girl appear to have mellowed. The guitars have been turned down, and instead the band have ushered in a variety of little electronic moments. Where distortion once pummeled you, synths now cajole you. Perhaps this isn't a huge surprise given what the band have been through – singer and guitarist Ellie Rose Davis was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and had to endure chemotherapy during lockdown. Thankfully she is now in remission.

The change in the band’s sound is most obvious on tracks like P.T.S Tea, Once Again and Closing In, all of which simmer with offbeat lyrics and poppy beats and are superb. The album’s lead single Sad Cowboy is another barometer of the change. There’s the sense that beneath the surface the same snarling elements are at work, but this time around it’s packaged very differently.

Occasionally Goat Girl change gear and we get a little reminder of their debut – The Crack for example thunders along on a big bassline, but even then it’s impossible to escape the feeling that it’s more expansive than anything they’ve done before. On All Fours is a tremendous record in its own right, but as a landmark on the map plotting Goat Girl’s journey it’s also absolutely fascinating. It’ll be interesting to see where they take us next.

On All Fours track list:

1. Pest

2. Badibaba

3. Jazz (In The Supermarket)

4. Once Again

5. P.T.S. Tea

6. Sad Cowboy

7. The Crack

8. Closing In

9. Anxiety Feels

10. They Bite On You

11. Bang

12. Where Do We Go From Here?

13. A-Men

Watch the official video for The Crack here.

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.