Goat Girl (album)

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Goat Girl
Studio album by
Released6 April 2018 (2018-04-06)
GenrePost-punk[1]
Length40:04
LabelRough Trade
ProducerDan Carey
Goat Girl chronology
Goat Girl
(2018)
On All Fours
(2021)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Clash8/10[3]
DIY[4]
Dork[5]
Drowned in Sound8/10[6]
Exclaim!5/10[7]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[8]
MusicOMH[9]
NME[10]
Pitchfork7.5/10[11]

Goat Girl is the debut eponymous studio album by English post-punk band Goat Girl. It was released on 6 April 2018, by Rough Trade Records.[12]

The album charted at number 24 on the UK Official Albums Chart,[13] and number 44 in Scotland.[14]

Release[edit]

The first track to be released from the album, "Country Sleaze", was released on 20 September 2016.[15]

On 30 October 2017, Goat Girl announced the release of their second single "Cracker Drool".[16] The single was produced by Dan Carey at his South London studio, while the music video was directed by CC Wade in Sussex, England.[17][18]

On 6 February 2018, the band announced the release of their debut album, along with the single "The Man".[19] The band said of the album:

"Simply put, it’s an album that comes from growing up in London and the first-hand experience of our city’s devolution. We wanted to think of it as this place seen not necessarily just through our eyes, but someone who can’t get past the abnormalities and strange happenings that exist in our city. We think this gives the freedom lyrically and musically to explore unspoken truths and emotions that we all as humans feel."[20]

Critical reception[edit]

Goat Girl was met with "generally favorable" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 80 based on 17 reviews.[2] Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 78 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 18 reviews.[21]

Josh Gray from Clash said the album has "earworm guitar licks and choir-like harmonies sprout unexpectedly from Goat Girl’s skeletal, unpredictable songs like wildflowers in landfill. Detuned ragtime pianos sound through intervals like the echoes of a haunted carnival while disembodied voices tell ghoulish tales of a semi-mythical London that exists beneath the cobblestones, caked in dirt and disease and decay."[3] Lisa Wright from DIY said the album is "ambitious and uncompromising, in both structure and content; rather than spoonfeeding, Goat Girl demand more from their listeners and provide more in tandem. As an opening statement, this is as gutsy and self-assured as they come."[4] Cal Cashin from Dork gave high praise to the band for the songwriting and catchy melodies within the album, explaining "The ease at which a whole other world is created, and the amount of catchy and effortlessly cool melodies on the way, ensure that Goat Girl’s debut is not only accomplished, but special.[5]

Accolades[edit]

Accolades for Goat Girl
Publication Accolade Rank
Fopp Fopp's Top 100 Albums of 2018
The Guardian The Guardian's Top 50 Albums of 2018
Louder Than War Louder Than War's Top 25 Albums of 2018
MusicOMH MusicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2018
NME NME's Top 100 Albums of 2018
No Ripcord No Ripcord's Top 50 Albums of 2018
The Quietus The Quietus' Top 100 Albums of 2018
Under the Radar Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2018

Track listing[edit]

Goat Girl track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Salty Sounds"1:07
2."Burn the Stake"2:40
3."Creep"2:21
4."Viper Fish"3:50
5."A Swamp Dog's Tale"1:21
6."Cracker Drool"2:38
7."Slowly Reclines"2:30
8."The Man With No Heart or Brain"1:32
9."Moonlit Monkey"0:40
10."The Man"3:10
11."Lay Down"2:50
12."I Don't Care, Pt. 1"2:08
13."Hank's Theme"0:47
14."I Don't Care, Pt. 2"2:51
15."Throw Me a Bone"2:27
16."Dance of Dirty Leftovers"0:46
17."Little Liar"1:44
18."Country Sleaze"1:48
19."Tomorrow"2:54
Japanese Bonus Edition[30]
No.TitleLength
20."Scream" 
21."Topless Tit" 
22."Banana (Instrumental)" 

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Goat Girl
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 44
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 24
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[31] 7

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Gray, Josh (9 April 2018). "Clash Magazine Review". Clash. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  4. ^ a b Wright, Lisa (6 April 2018). "DIY Magazine Review". DIY. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b Cashin, Cal (3 April 2018). "Dork Magazine Review". Dork. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  6. ^ Gourlay, Dom (10 April 2018). "Drowned in Sound Review". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  7. ^ Bowles, Beth (6 April 2018). "Exclaim! Review". Exclaim!. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  8. ^ Taylor, Chris (27 March 2018). "Championing the disaffected youth, Goat Girl make their mark with a sharp, witty debut". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  9. ^ Ashton-Smith, Alan (4 April 2018). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  10. ^ Cooper, Leonie (5 April 2018). "NME Review". NME. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  11. ^ Barlow, Eve (9 April 2018). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  12. ^ Day, Laurence (5 February 2018). "Goat Girl detail 19-track debut record and share video for new single 'The Man'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  15. ^ Day, Laurence (20 September 2016). "Goat Girl reveal Rough Trade debut 'Country Sleaze'". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  16. ^ Murray, Robin (30 October 2017). "Goat Girl Share New Single 'Cracker Drool'". Clash. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  17. ^ "Goat Girl share new track 'Cracker Drool'". The Partae. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Goat Girl - Cracker Drool". Retrieved 26 September 2020 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ Murray, Robin (6 February 2018). "Goat Girl's 'The Man' Is Absolute Blast". Clash. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Goat Girl announce debut album and share 'The Man'". Remote Control Records. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Album of the Year Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Best Albums of 2018". Fopp. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  23. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". The Guardian. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  24. ^ Babey, Ged (9 December 2018). "Albums of the Year 2018". Louder Than War. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  25. ^ Hubbard, Michael (5 December 2018). "MusicOMH's Top 50 Albums of 2018". MusicOMH. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Best Albums of the Year 2018". NME. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  27. ^ "No Ripcord's 50 Best Albums of 2018". No Ripcord. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  28. ^ Turner, Luke (25 December 2018). "The Quietus' Top 100 of 2018". The Quietus. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2018". Under the Radar. 30 December 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Goat Girl Japan". Suruga-ya.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 26, 2020.