#23 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Goose

January 09, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Dripfield by Goose

Jam bands aren’t my thing. They’re a lot of other people’s thing, but not mine. I understand, intellectually, why people like jam bands, start to obsess about their favorite one, and eventually become Deadheads, Phish Phans, or Gizzard Wizards (these names may be entirely fabricated), finding themselves following their favorite jam band around the world to continually worship at the feet of their chosen god. But unlike the guilt I feel when not listening to Big Thief, I feel no guilt for not having fallen in with the jam band scene.

Goose, from Norwalk, Connecticut, are proving to be the catalyst for a shift in my thinking. Not only is Dripfield, really, really good, but I also got to experience them in their true form this past summer: live, in person, at Thing festival just outside Port Townsend, Washington. Both the album and the experience have left me changed, softer on my stance regarding jam bands, and open and ready to explore more. My jam-band-aficionado friends — you know who you are — are not-so-silently rejoicing.

I’ve not listened to Goose’s first two albums: 2016’s Moon Cabin and Shenanigans Nite Club from 2019. But from what I’ve read, those albums were mere stop-gaps to getting the band back out on the road. In true jam-band fashion, they slowly built a following based on consistently good live shows, almost in spite of their recorded work. Part of that following involved Ezra Koenig, lead singer/songwriter of long-time Bacon Review favorites Vampire Weekend. Koenig likes the band so much, he asked them to create a 20 minute, 21 second-long remix/cover of Vampire Weekend song “2021” from Father of the Bride (#3 in 2019) for their 2021 EP, 40:42.

All that performing work over a five year span allowed Goose to hone a near-perfect 60-minute set to record for in studio for their 2022 release, Dripfield. The band’s third full-length album is, even by the band’s own admission, their first real album. It has a number of gems, including ”Hungersite,” shown in the video above. A personal favorite is the first track on the album, “Borne,” and the title song is pretty great as well. All three of these songs have the band at their best (despite the visual side of the videos being a touch on the boring side): lead singer Rick Mitarotonda’s smooth vocals and solid, guitar-driven hooks along with multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach’s keyboards rounding out the top end while the rhythm section (Ben Atkind on drums, Jeff Arevalo on percussion, and bassist Trevor Weeks) drive the songs deftly forward.

Hearing these songs as recorded in the studio is nice, but hearing them performed live is otherworldly. The band’s day one headliner slot at Thing festival this past August couldn’t have been better: their set time followed a pair of perfect openers in Sparks and Father John Misty (another Bacon Review favorite), clear skies with a stiff breeze coming in from Puget Sound, and a crowd of thousands enjoying their much-needed freedom after a couple years of pandemic-forced introversion. Goose played eight songs in their 90-minute set, each clocking in at well over 10 minutes long. It was a thing of beauty.

I walked off the festival grounds that night a changed man. I had been shown the light of the jam band experience, and I was left wanting more. That’s the Goose way. Join me in my newfound excitement! Check out their wonderful album Dripfield, and then book tickets to see them when they come to Seattle in April. Maybe I’ll see you there.

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24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#25 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — Jeff Tweedy

January 07, 2019 by Royal Stuart

WARM by Jeff Tweedy

It’s been a while since I paid attention to Wilco or their lead singer/songwriter, Jeff Tweedy. Wilco’s album The Whole Love was at #18 back in 2011, but Star Wars and Schmilco, their 2015 and 2016 albums, went in one ear and out the other, never to be heard from again. I don’t think I ever even heard Tweedy’s debut solo album from 2017, Together at Last.

But now it’s 2018, and at the suggestion of a friend (thanks Pete!), I find that Tweedy has managed to put out a new album that actually begged for more than just a cursory listen. WARM, Tweedy’s 2nd solo album, and 21st overall album when you look back at his work with Wilco and before that, Uncle Tupelo, is exactly that: “warm.” The album is easy to listen to, never boisterous, a joy.

There used to be a radio station in Seattle called “The Mountain”, that would play all those softer “alternative” (but not indie) songs by the likes of the Dave Matthews Band. Then when they went under, the torch was picked up by “Warm 106.1” — even a little more softer, a little more easy-listening. It is without irony or ire that I propose that many songs from Jeff Tweedy’s WARM would have fit right in on Warm 106.1’s programming. While I never listened to 103.7 The Mountain or Warm 106.1 with any regularity, they had their permanent place in the set radio stations in my car, and I would flip to them from time to time, pleasantly surprised at the approachable song emanating from those airwaves.

Such is WARM. Not an album I’ll likely listen to on repeat, but one that I’ll throw into a mix to balance out the excitement, to bring in a moment of reduction. Or put on on an early weekend morning to slowly wake up to the day. If you’ve been a fan of Wilco before, or, maybe, the Grateful Dead and the like, then WARM may be just the thing to get you back into Jeff Tweedy’s embrace.

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26. God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
27. Vessel by Frankie Cosmos
28. For Ever by Jungle
29. Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz
30. Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo
31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

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#29 on the 2017 Bacon Top 31

January 03, 2018 by Royal Stuart

A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs

If you were following The Bacon Review back during the Top 31 of 2014, then you’re already familiar with the band here at #29, The War on Drugs. Their third album, Lost in the Dream, appeared at #13 that year. A Deeper Understanding is their fourth album, and it’s a clear continuation of what they had back then.

My view of the band hasn’t changed — this is dad rock of the highest caliber. Think of the music made towards the end of the Grateful Dead run, or any solo music made by the Eagles after the band went their separate ways (before reuniting, of course), and that’s exactly where The War on Drugs is.

This is a good, poppy album from start to finish. There have been a few good videos from it, including the one for “Holding On” above (the best song on the album), as well as “Pain” and the quirky “Nothing to Find”. If you liked their last album, you’ll like this one every bit as much.

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30. Planetarium by Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, & James McAlister
31. A Moment Apart by Odesza

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