A bomb in your car explodes. You are crucified for not paying your taxes. A single shot rings out on the battlefield while dance music plays. Geese isn’t pulling any punches: you are indeed getting killed.
RateYourMusic r/indieheads, matcha-wielding acoustic guitar players, cowboy boot-donning Bostonians and classic rock fans alike waited with bated breath for the new release from the New York City-based band. As singles “Taxes,” “Trinidad” and “100 Horses” (all with lyrical references to getting killed in the ways above) were released over the summer, the whispers compounded, growing louder and louder. Questions filled the air. Would Geese ever be able to top their critically acclaimed 2023 album “3D Country,” especially with the breakout success of “Heavy Metal,” lead singer Cameron Winter’s 2024 solo album? And…why does it sound like they can?
Oh, don’t worry: they did.
Full disclaimer: I am not coming into this review from an unbiased perspective. I have been obsessively listening to and recommending both “3D Country” and “Heavy Metal” for months. I almost cried when the new album was announced. I joined Cameron Winter’s Instagram lives this summer while in Taiwan –- a place with a 13-hour time difference. I listened to the purposeful leak of the second single before its official release. I got ten seconds into “Cobra,” the first non-single on “Getting Killed,” and immediately texted all of my fellow Geeseheads how it was the album of the year/decade/century/ever. Many of my friends have been subjected to me screaming the lyrics “DOCTOR! DOCTOR!” in my best Cameron Winter impression whenever “Taxes” plays in my car – which is a lot. My fellow Arts Editor, Emily Hueser ’26, showed slight concern for how many Geese-related articles I slated for the semester (Only two! For now!). Dearest readers, the rumors are true. I am a D-I Geese glazer.
For those unaware of Geese, this may all sound at least unconvincing, and at most kind of insane. So what? What makes this particular band so special? Geese consists of four members: the aforementioned Cameron Winter on vocals and guitar, Emily Green on guitar, Dominic DiGesu on bass and Max Bassin on drums. Geese is quite a young band, both in its members (in their early twenties) and discography (with their first project, “EP,” released in 2018). Still, this didn’t stop them from capturing attention in the indie rock scene since their formation; they’ve opened for legends like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Vampire Weekend and Greta Van Fleet.
However, what makes Geese so exciting is their eclectic mix of genres and inspirations. “3D Country” is indeed a country album, but it takes these conventions and spins them in an almost campy way, with twangy guitars and cowboy storytelling clashing with the postmodern New York indie scene where the album is coming from.
“Getting Killed” is no exception to this combination of chaos. Geese is often compared to other worshipped-bynerdy-college-students band black midi in their odd instrumentation, visceral lyrics and absolutely unidentifiable accent of the lead singer; but in my opinion, Geese takes more advantage of mainstream techniques to totally flip them onto their head. Lots of songs on “Getting Killed” are catchy, from the repeated guitar riffs and lyrics on “Cobra” to the jaw-dropping breakdown on “Bow Down.” But still, it’s weird: Kenny Beats, of all people, co-produces this album with Winter; “Trinidad” features JPEGMAFIA screaming on the explosive (pun intended) chorus; on many songs, dramatic pianos are combined with droning guitars and echoing backup vocals and songs are structured to cut off right at the climax (like on my favorite track, “Half Real”). It’s the type of album that you laugh at on paper. It shouldn’t work.
But goddamn, it does. If there’s one thing that Geese has grown at, they seem to perfect their storytelling skills on the album, weaving consistent themes throughout songs that feel like anthologies. While concepts like religious imagery are used liberally throughout the album, with many references to Maria, angels and crucifixions to highlight tensions with relationships, each song stands on its own with unique characters, instrumentation and emotions. Creative choices on individual songs know no bounds. All of the songs work on their own perfectly well, but taken as a group, every song contextualizes the other.
“Getting Killed” also sees Geese at their most analytical. “Heavy Metal” focused on the struggles of songwriting and artistry (especially “Cancer of the Skull”), and “Getting Killed” continues that theme, especially in the context of a time that feels nothing less than apocalyptic. This album is not just about making music, but the tensions between being someone who is creating while the world seems hell-bent on destruction. On “Long Island City Here I Come,” Winter almost screams “Maria cried out to me / ‘You can either leave / Or you can stop playing that cowbell with your gun.’” How can art and violence coexist? Or, is there any way to even use that violence to make art? The track “Taxes” is the band at their most overtly political: “If you want me to pay my taxes / You better come over with a crucifix,” the lyrics challenge, reflecting many young people’s sentiments on current political systems. If you want patriotism, martyr me first.
Still, amidst all the craziness, glimpses of the true and visceral in the interpersonal shine through. “You can change / Baby, you can change and still choose me,” Winter begs on “Au Pays du Cocaine,” a sobering snapshot of the desperation of convincing someone to just come back, no matter what. It’s easy to get swept away in the bombastic scope of the album, but Winter’s lyricism is always potent. “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 / I’ve got no more thinking to do’” he laments on “Half Real.”
“Getting Killed” forces us to think about ourselves, the context in which we live and how that influences our treatment of others. What do you hold dear? What do you want? How do you give to the world without taking away from it? “I have no idea where I’m going / Here I come,” admits Winter on the closing track. Throughout the album, we also have no idea where we’re going. The most we can do is enjoy the ride. Honk.
