Traumanaut

Goblin Cock's frontman, Lord Phallus, remains a becloaked non-presence among a band of similarly vague personas. Where plenty of imitators turn that kind of anonymity into bankable lore, Goblin Cock seem to want the opposite: to be ignored, and to let the music do the talking.

Traumanaut, the project's newest LP, feels like a real burst of fresh air. It arrives from what sounds like a deep quagmire of neurosis, yet comes through with clarity and purpose, making it one of the more striking and unexpectedly open records in their catalogue.

At times, it sounds so personal that most songwriters would probably try to hide from that level of honesty. Here, that directness stays right at the surface, giving Traumanaut a raw, intimate pull beneath all the obscured identity.