Getting Killed

Geese

With descriptors like country, folk, and indie rock, I really had no interest in checking out the breakout New York band Geese. With some very special exceptions, these genres rarely captivate or excite me. Although, if you frequent online music spaces, it's been difficult to ignore the high praise the band and frontman Cameron Winter have been receiving ever since 2023's 3D Country. I'm not immune to the bandwagon effect and seeing Kenny Beats listed as the producer on their new album was also very intriguing. Therefore, on the off chance that Getting Killed was one of those rare exceptions, I hit play. Now I didn't exactly now what I was getting into, but I certainly wasn't expecting Trinidad. It was funky, smokey, and effortlessly cool. It was also a little disorienting with fleeting instrumentation that randomly appears all over the wide stereo field. After all that, what I expected the least were these intense, explosive blasts of instrumentation and Winter's feral screams of "THERE'S A BOMB IN MY CAR." Suddenly there's an alarming urgency that is pretty unbecoming of an alternative country/folk rock band.

I ended up sampling a couple more tracks afterwards, but given that they didn't match the insanity of the opener, I didn't think much of them at the time. However, the band won me over in a really big way after I decided to watch their performance of Taxes on Jimmy Kimmel. It began as a rather grayscale folk tune with muted acoustic guitars, distant tribal percussion, and Winter's more Americanized, lazily drawled, Thom Yorke-esque croon. Around the halfway point, the song switches to full technicolour thanks to a slight tempo bump, a more driving drum beat, and most notably, some truly beautiful chiming guitar leads. As this section progresses, it continues to reach new emotional plateaus; whether that be from the drumming getting increasingly more urgent, the band rushing the tempo a little bit, or the introduction of higher guitar harmonies. The moment I first heard it, I knew it was one of the most stunning tunes of the year, and not a day has gone by since without listening to both the live and album versions multiple times. Despite operating in genres I typically don't have any interest in, this song was proof that the band could win me over with undeniable songwriting and performances.

Revisiting the record, I started to warm up a little more to what I was hearing. For one, I think Kenny Beats did a fantastic job on the production; further showcasing just how versatile he is in different musical contexts. The production is vintage and perhaps a little laissez-faire when it comes to tone chasing, but the important thing is that all the performance intricacies and the deep chemistry within the band is meticulously captured. There's also a certain romanticism and a vibrance in this production style that endears me a little more to the genres the band plays in. Cobra's dry, sun-kissed sound is a great example. The gently propelling percussion, the midrange bite on the bass, and the organs all sound fantastic. I especially like the main guitar riff that begins with a weeping pre-bend. The more rockin' cuts like the title track and 100 Horses also translate really well thanks to some fiery performances in the drumming, guitar playing, and Winter's feverish vocal delivery.

While Geese have made a very strong impression on me with this album, there were still a couple things that kept me from loving it. Getting Killed is a really strong track, but it unfortunately fizzles out towards the end. 100 Horses maintains consistent energy, but doesn't live up to its promise of something bigger around the corner. Then there's Husbands, Islands of Men, and Bow Down which failed to make much of an impression on me because they either were too minimal, repetitive, or too long. Sadly, the last gripe I have is Winter's voice. I didn't mind it in spurts, but over the course of an album, it does become a little grating. The consolation, however, is that Winter's lyricism has caused me to pause at a few moments in the back half. "I've got half a mind to just pay for the lobotomy, and tell 'em get rid of the bad times, and get rid of the good times too," he laments on Half Real. The song's protagonist grows tired trying to validate the love in their relationship, so he begins to disengage. The song ends with a twist on the song's refrain: "they may say our love was only half real, but that's only half true." It's a simple line that has the power to keep you up at night. I feel similarly about the lyrics on Taxes. It's a morally conflicted track in which wrongdoing is acknowledged, but our protagonist is reluctant to shoulder the consequences. Something tells me that he's probably not worthy of sympathy, but hearing a defeated Winter vow that he "will only break his own heart from now on," is frankly... heartbreaking.

On Getting Killed, Geese demonstrated that they can be one of those special exceptions when it comes to me liking anything in the vein of folk or country music. The band accomplished this by showcasing their fantastic musicianship and the lively connection they share. Kenny Beats also proves that his taste in production extends far beyond just hip-hop and electronic music. I may be late to the party, but Geese is certainly on my radar now. I look forward to hearing more from them in the future.