London based Goat Girl are making waves on their headline UK tour in a series of intimate and cosy venues. This evening, it’s the smaller, newly named Community Room in the Brudenell Social Club, whose crisp acoustics and low key vibes set the ideal scene for an evening of four distinctively different bands on the rise.
One-man-show and support act Jerkcurb delivers a self-deprecating yet tantalising performance. Despite a few technical issues including a temperamental loop box, his perfectly lingering chords and yearning vocals more than make up for the choppy transitions. Two-stepping around the stage, Jerkcurb himself seems completely entranced by his own wistful melodies. As one gig goer notes afterwards, “that was so chilled I felt like I was dreaming.”
Cue a very different variety of indie: If Jerkcurb is the soundtrack to all your lucid dreams then Goat Girl represent everything attentively awake with their politically charged indie punk. Discordant guitars, punchy lyrics and an effortlessly cool confidence characterise their Patti Smith and Slits-esque sound. More surprising then, that they play with a violin onstage which adds an unexpected te
xture to their performance. There is a lack of crowd interaction but that only adds to the dark and moody atmosphere as the band solemnly play the haunting ‘Scum’ and ‘Crow Cries’.
A short but snappy set is drawn to a close with lead singer, Lottie, explaining that the band are ‘a bit ill’. That doesn’t stop them from pelting through a ferocious couple of minutes of ‘Country Sleaze’, arguably the band’s best current song. The lyrics leave nothing to imagination, featuring the line, “touch my body, touch my soul/ Touch that deep and disused hole”. In one last hurrah, someone thrusts themselves into the body of people on the frontlines and before the first big riff, a moshpit breaks out much to the bemused expressions of the rest of the crowd.
It’s clear in these final few moments that there’s much more to be offered from the four piece. In better health perhaps, a much more boisterous set lies in store.
Words by Natasha Lyons
Images by Kit Lawrenson (Instagram: @kit.lawrenson)