Goat Girl

South London’s Goat Girl combine incisive social commentary with a sound that stretches from punk to country to electronic pop. On 2018′s self-titled debut album, they set their frustrations about Brexit, sexual harassment, and relationships to a snarling mix of punk, country, and goth; when they returned with 2021′s On All Fours, they didn’t sacrifice any of their bite for the album’s more expansive sound and viewpoint.
Goat Girl formed in 2016 after lead vocalist/guitarist Clottie Cream (Lottie Pendlebury), guitarist/vocalist L.E.D. (Ellie Rose Davies), bassist/vocalist Naima Bock, and drummer Rosy Bones (Rosy Jones) met at various concert venues in South London’s thriving D.I.Y. scene, which was also home to HMLTD, Sorry, and Shame. Taking their name from the late comedian Bill Hicks’ contentious sketch “Goat Boy,” Goat Girl were inspired by the sounds of Metronomy and Sonic Youth and rehearsed in the garage of Davies’ mother.
After playing regular gigs at Brixton venue The Windmill, the band signed to Rough Trade in July 2016 and released their debut single, “Country Sleaze”/“Scum,” that October. Goat Girl’s momentum grew in 2017 as they played shows including that year’s Visions Festival and what became the Fall’s final London gig before Mark E. Smith’s death. That August, they issued the single “Crow Cries” and followed it that Halloween with “Cracker Drool,” which was accompanied by a fittingly spooky promo video. Early in 2018, they issued the single “The Man” as a teaser for their self-titled debut full-length. Produced by Dan Carey, March 2018′s Goat Girl featured the band’s previously released singles and expanded on their mix of post-punk, goth, and country sounds. Goat Girl’s accolades included charting in Rough Trade Shops’ top ten albums of the year, an achievement the band celebrated with April 2019′s Udder Sounds, a limited-edition EP of reworkings of songs from the album. That year also saw bassist Holy Hole (Holly Mullineaux) replace Bock in time to play on Goat Girl’s second full-length. While they were recording, Davies was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma and underwent a six-month course of chemotherapy, but the band managed to complete the album in October 2019. Once again produced by Carey, On All Fours appeared in January 2021 and featured more collaborative songwriting and a wider-ranging, more nuanced sound. ~ Heather Phares & Bekki Bemrose