Van Goat

“Back in the ’30s and ’40s, swing was a high-energy dance music that people would dance to ’til they passed out. These days, if a band starts up with the clarinets and the ride cymbals, you’ll probably start picturing your great grandpa doing the jitterbug. Oakland’s Van Goat breathes a healthy dose of punk rock into swing by stripping it down, raw and so energetic that you’ll want to upstage your granddaddy on the dance floor.” - Good Times Santa Cruz

Van Goat’s second album ‘Nobody Cares’ is a joyful song cycle of genre and dynamic extremes. The album finds the band incorporating a wider swath of genres into their already eclectic arsenal. Opener “Bad Boy Drunk” is decidedly country, with a soaring chorus evoking Mutations-era Beck and the refrain “I started to count up all my junk/ but ended up gettin’ bad boy drunk” is decidedly Hank Williams-esque in its self-deprecation. ‘Maia’ is a surf-rock explosion of guitars, high vocals and rhythmic breakdowns. On the album closer, ‘Nobody Cares’, Lindsay Alexis belts out the titular line ‘nobody cares’ like classic-era Etta James.

Alexis, who shares lead vocal duty with Aidan Ward (along with playing trombone and the occasional rhythm guitar), takes a much more central role in the vocals and lyrics of ‘Nobody Cares.’ Brooke Becher of the East Bay Express says of the Alexis-fronted “Ain’t All That Bad:”

Van Goat’s latest release still sits squarely in their self prescribed genre of ‘swing punk’ but is a more mature and thoughtful collection of songs in structure, harmony, and lyrics. Loud, heavy surf-rock contrasts with swing and jazz; country with groove-centered funk, making for a dynamic and lively listening experience. “Nobody Cares’ is out now