Music Review: Geese’s ‘Getting Killed’ is the inventive Brooklyn band’s most accessible album yet
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Winnipeg Free Press subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $4.99 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “There’s a bomb in my car!” Geese frontman Cameron Winter warns through blood-curdling screams on “Trinidad,” the opening track of the band’s third studio album. The song — which boasts a guest appearance from JPEGMAFIA — oscillates between croons over bluesy guitars to abrasive instrumentation that match Winter’s shrieks.
But the faint of heart need not be deterred. While interesting, “Trinidad” feels out of place on “Getting Killed,” the Brooklyn rock band’s most accessible record yet — despite its inventive deviations from traditional song structures.
That fits with Geese’s trajectory of late, following the distinct shift from the lo-fi post-punk of their early music to “3D Country,” their alt-country second studio album.
Track two on “Getting Killed” gives listeners a better sense of the album’s easy-listening fare, even if its lyrics are characteristically poignant and absurd. “Baby, you should be ashamed / You should be shame’s only daughter / Whatever he’s got in his hand / You can get it on your own,” Winter sings on “Cobra,” a ’60s soul rock throwback.
But even as the album evokes a feeling of nostalgia, expectations are subverted.
Take “Islands of Men,” for example. Its intensity builds with the addition of trombones and assertive drums as Winter intones, “Will you stop / Running away / From what is real / And what is fake?” But the music completely stops about three and a half minutes into the five-minute track, then slowly resumes with barely audible lyrics and crescendoing instrumentation for the rest of the song.
The album’s titular track begins with upbeat chants and a bright, fuzzy guitar, contrasting the existential tension of the song’s message. “I’m getting killed by a pretty good life / I have been (expletive) destroyed by the city tonight,” Winter sings.
Although much of the album is comprised of nonsensical and irreverent lyrics so characteristic of Gen Z, Winter’s froggy voice adds a gravity to each song, even if the meaning is opaque.
“I knew a man / He sat behind a desk that was a million feet wide / But he laid down his hammer and he died,” he sings on “Long Island City Here I Come.”
But what Winter sings matters less than how he sings it.
___
“Getting Killed” by Geese
Three and a half stars out of five.
On repeat: “Husbands”
Skip it: “Half Real”
For fans of: MJ Lenderman, Geordie Greep, existential dread but make it pretty