Review of 'Getting Killed' by Geese

It’s time to give the new Geese record a gander.

Geese (not to be confused with Goose, Ducks Ltd, The Wrens, Eagles or any of those other bird-themed bands) are a four-piece rock group that I only discovered a month ago, but apparently they’ve got three previous albums under their belt and have been making music since 2016. Wikipedia says that their lead singer and founding member Cameron Winter is ‘22-23’ years old (why the rough estimate?), which according to my calculations means Cameron Winter was impressively only 13-14 years old when the band got started.  

???

I originally thought these guys were a British ‘windmill scene’ band as they have an unhinged energy that seems similar to bands like BCNR, Black Midi, Shame and Squid. But no, these guys are from Brooklyn (which, judging from recent Brooklyn bands I’ve heard, seems to have an equally weird and exciting music scene right now). Their vocals are an acquired taste. They sound like Alt-J’s Joe Newman attempting a southern bluesy drawl. Personally I’m on the fence as to whether I wholly like the vocals or not: there’s an endearing humour to Cameron’s slow and elongated delivery when unveiling seemingly random lines like ‘a hundred hoooorses daaaaaaancing maaaaybe one-hundred-and-twenty foooour’, but I think his voice is perhaps a little goofy for pulling off sincere songs like ‘au pays du cocaine’. I also wish there was a bit more bonkers screeching as found in opening track ‘Trinidad’ (‘THERE’S A BOMB IN MY CAR!!!’), but I may be in the minority there.  

Ultimately, the best part about Getting Killed (there’s probably a better way to word this sentence) is the instrumentation. Geese craft songs in a very unusual way that feels unpredictable and semi-improvised, while somehow feeling oddly complete. Riffs come in and out as they please as on ‘100 Horses’ and songs often don’t reach a natural conclusion (‘Half-Real’ even cuts out abruptly). What the band are very good at is building up songs and keeping them ever-changing. Highlights include title track ‘Getting Killed’ with its bustling percussion and beautiful instrumental break half-way through, and ‘Islands of Men’ which slowly builds around a stomping rhythm. However, the most impressive track comes at the very end, ‘Long Island City Here I Come’ – a song that continuously speeds up and gains intensity until it reaches a blitzkrieg crescendo that leaves you out of breath just listening to it.

★★★★☆

TRACK TASTER: