In Conversation With #120 - Goat Girl
After two years since their debut release - Goat Girl are back with new album ‘On All Fours’, which marks a new era for the band. They took a moment to talk to us about how their sound has grown, the political themes in their writing and how the whole album came together.
Hey there, how are you? So your second album is finally with us, how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Hey, I'm good thanks. Hope you are too.
It's been a long time coming and we're really excited to share it with everyone. We hope amongst all of this madness that it can provide a little escape.
It is titled ‘On All Fours’ - does that hold a certain meaning for you as a band?
The title came from a book that Jane Carey (Dan's wife) showed us over dinner. We were scanning through looking for inspiration and it just connected. We've drawn out numerous meanings retrospectively about nature, power and submission. The list goes on.
Where was the album recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process?
We recorded the album at Dan Carey's studio in Streatham but it was written in quite a few locations in the end. We started off in Ellie's mum's garage in Deptford then headed to a farm/wedding venue in East Grinstead called The Yoghurt Rooms, where we cut ourselves off from society for a week, eating, sleeping and jamming together over a few drinks. We then ended up in my (Holly's) basement, refining things and spent the summer of 2019 in Dan Carey's other studio in Streatham (Mr Punch) when we'd set a date for recording. It's underground and the aircon was broken so we ended up stripping off and writing some of the more unhinged tracks down there.
It has been two years since your debut album, how does this one differ from the last? Do you feel your sound has grown?
Of course I wasn't on the first record, but this is something we've been asked about a lot. On a simple level adding a new person to the mix is going to change things up. I brought my synth (Korg Minilogue) along to some of our early writing sessions and it soon became part of the writing process. We all tend to take a more electronic approach when we make demos and the desire to explore synth sounds and electronic elements was present in the interludes on the first record and even more so on our Udder Sounds EP. We're always thinking of new ways to experiment when we're writing and have been keen to make the songs as rich and interesting as they can be. I think you can hear that with the percussion loops and layers of viola and trumpet on On All Fours.
This album sees you working with Dan Carey as a producer, who has worked with the likes of Bat For Lashes, black midi and more. How was that experience?
Dan has an incredible ability to bring out the best in people and whilst he's a genius producer and synth wizard, the best thing about working with him is the energy he brings to a room. His creativity and enthusiasm for the process makes him such a joy to work with.
Is this album a political one? And do you see yourself as that sort of band?
There are certainly political themes on this record and some are more apparent than others. I think our intention when writing music is just to express ourselves freely. When you're affected by or see others being affected by unjust political systems it's hard to separate that from how you think and feel in your everyday life and ultimately that comes through in what we write about.
What are the key influences and themes on this album?
Sonically there's loads, Broadcast, Stereolab, Guns N' Roses (joking, kind of). Thematically it's a struggle between darkness and light, of hope and despair, expressing concerns about the state of our planet and showing our disdain for some of the atrocities that vast power structures like capitalism, colonialism and the patriarchy have brought on today's society.
Do you have a favourite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
Badi badi ba ba. Honestly I can't pick, there's so many strong lyrical images on the album from the first line "There's a hand ripping past the glands, ripping out all of the contents..." to the heartfelt sentiment of "I don't want to be on those pills" on Anxiety Feels, it's a journey!
Now this album is done, what next for Goat Girl?
We're trying to stay safe and sane. Writing from our respective homes and hoping play the tracks live as soon as it's safe to do so. We've got some time on our hands to think about stage design, and how to bring the live show to life.