New Goat Girl Album is Full of 90s Goodness

I wrote a few weeks ago how a new Goat Girl song, “Badibaba”, seemed to channel 90s Dream Pop band Lush. Since then the new album, On All Fours, has debuted on Spotify and it is amazing.

The 90s references are everywhere. You can hear Dream Pop, of course, but also EDM flourishes, Trip Hop hooks, and other 90s goodness. Listening to the song “Sad Cowboy” gives me a Radiohead flashback.

Vocals are quiet, almost muted. Harmonies are also the order the of day. You hear this especially on “The Crack” where the band sings together but in that understated manner common of Radiohead and Lush. This creates more of a layered vocals effect than typical pop harmonies. Coupled with the shimmering guitars, the vocals great an album with serious sonic texture.

The feel of the album is subdued and chill, even when tempos are quick. The layered guitars with jazzy hooks creates that almost otherworldly feel common in the later stages of Dream Pop and other 90 Alternative.

The subject matter is what you expect from Goat Girl. Anxiety, sadness, and struggle are the main themes. Even so, Goat Girl doesn’t seem preachy so much as empathic and cathartic. It never gets so heavy that you want to stop listening or too light that it trivializes the words.

Despite all the 90s sounds, this is still an album rooted in the modern music scene; It is not a retro album. Here, Goat Girl is swimming in the same ocean as Best Coast or Beach House. Dreamy, ethereal music that speaks to the soul instead of the Id.

Goat Girl is quickly becoming my favorite obsession in music. It’s not just that they echo the sounds of the 90s (that helps of course) so much as they continue to produce music that forces you to pay attention. They are not trite or overbearing and precious. It wakes you up but gently.

You can find On All Fours on Spotify. It’s worth a listen. Or two. Or ten. Once a day should do it.