The word “Mature” is an often and often incorrectly used descriptor when describing bands. Many wouldn’t be wrong to think, when they see this in reviews, that the band they loved has grown up and got boring. When using it to describe the sophomore release from Geese, available everywhere June 23rd via Partisan and Play It Again Sam, it is definitely not being used in that way. The Brooklyn based band started as high school experimentalists. Practicing after their high school day was done in their parents basement. Their plan was to put out a release documenting their music and then break up and go off to college. The music world had different plans for the band though. Their debut album Projector was enthusiastically received by the industry and set the band off on a path that has them now delaying college and taking their music seriously. You hear this seriousness on 3D Country. One of the exciting things initially about Geese is that they seemed like they were on the precipice of collapsing. Their manic energy harkened back to the days when indie rock seemed dangerous. That danger isn’t missing on the new album, in fact it’s featured front and centre but the band seemingly has more control over how they use this aspect of their music. With production from James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Depeche Mode and Shame), the quintet has crafted an album that’s open, thrilling and a more “mature” take on where they have been before.

As they have described “the last record was our teenage angst and 3D Country is our newfound twenty-something arrogance”. Kicking off with “2122”, the band charmingly combine classic rock elements with their forward thinking brashness and it’s pretty addictive. Think Jon Spencer but he grew up listening to Turnstile. There is a swagger and groove here that doesn’t sacrifice any of the band’s trademark mania. With “Cowboy Nudes” the band adds a soulful element in the guise of some falsetto harmonies but in the middle of the proceedings aren’t scared to break out into a cowbell and bongo fuelled freak out. On the song “Undoer”, Geese showcase their impeccable musicianship on a foreboding slow burn of a track that is guaranteed to keep you coming back for more.

Despite the growth or “maturity” of 3D Country, there is a sense of unease that permeates through the whole affair. Vocalist Cameron Winter says he was preoccupied with something he describes as “modern doom”. The way in which all manners of impending catastrophes just seem to loom in the back of our minds while we have to go about our everyday lives. . “At this point, everybody I know is already so cynical and defeatist about the state of things, it’s actually hilarious,” he explains. “Younger people make jokes out of the fact that human extinction is on the horizon, and that’s kind of beautiful. I tried to represent that attitude.” Represent he certainly has and that is just another aspect of the band’s knowing take on whatever you want to call indie rock music today. 3D Country is a huge step forward. Brash, exciting, irreverent and ultimately only something that could’ve come from the minds and hearts of Geese themselves.

Pre-order 3D Country by Geese HERE