How someone didn’t beat them to the name, I’ll never know, but Bavarian creamers Motorgoat storm out of the gate with The Days of Thirst – the first EP from this hard-drinking foursome. If their logo looks like something you’d see on a doppelbock label, it’s not a coincidence: the burl on the EP’s four tracks comes through boozy-breathed and with all the subtlety one might expect from a song called “Alcoholic Supernova.” What they really have going for them through the self-released The Days of Thirst’s 19-minute runtime is charm. From the beer can top-popping that starts “Alcoholic Supernova” through the burp that caps closer “Werewolves on Wheels” (named for the 1971 movie), Motorgoat rev up straightforward heavy biker rock, dudely and occasionally falling over itself – as drunkards do – but still regaining consciousness in time to rock some more. The two songs in between the opener and the closer, “Curse of the Motorgoat” and “Days of Thirst” don’t do much to expand the sonic palette, though “Days of Thirst” is longer and has more going on structurally, but they show some songwriting potential and seem to further the idea that Motorgoat don’t want much more than to get loaded and rock out. The EP being self-released, and their first, there’s not much more I could see reasonably asking of it than what it delivers, especially as the tracks are catchy and, true to their intent, go well with a frosty beverage or two. Or six.

Fans of the last couple Orange Goblin records will be able to grasp Motorgoat’s approach almost immediately. “Alcoholic Supernova” is led by the riffs of Raffael and topped with the rough-but-clean vocals of Matthias, whose punkish delivery has the effect of dirtying up most of The Days of Thirst, and bassist Benedikt and drummer Simon hold down straightforward rock rhythms behind. Nobody in the band is showy in their playing, and the songs work for being relatively simple – at 3:25, “Alcoholic Supernova” would barely have time in it anyway for indulgent soloing from Raffael or anyone else – while still staying upbeat enough to hold the attention. “Curse of the Motorgoat” leans a little more on Benedikt’s bass tone for the verse groove, which comes through well even in a rough-edged production, with Matthias saying something about London, England, in the chorus that I can’t quite make out. If it’s an idea taken from classic horror, it would make sense given Motorgoat’s overall approach and the familiarity “Werewolves on Wheels” would seem to connote, but I can’t be sure. Raffael takes a few measures for a solo, as if to give me time to process, but even that’s not enough (I’m a little slow), and soon Simon is thudding the band’s way into the final chorus, which is catchy but perhaps not as much so as that of “Alcoholic Supernova.” With “Days of Thirst,” the gears shift somewhat and Benedikt opens the song quietly on bass, a developing intro gradually introducing the drums and more ethereal guitar for about the first 45 seconds until the riff and Matthias kick in almost in tandem. The third is the most satisfying of the EP’s four tracks — even if the chorus riff pinch-harmonics get grating after a while – for its more relaxed feel and better balance of groove and pace.

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