Getting Killed by Geese

The opening track on Getting Killed, the #2 album of 2025 by Brooklyn band Geese, is set in 13/8 time. You hear Dominic DiGesu’s drawn out bass rhythm, a consistent eight-note tap on the snare by Max Bassin with a two-tap fill between measures, and a four-note Emily Green lead guitar riff, repeating every 13 beats. Two measures in, lead singer Cameron Winter’s supremely drawn out voice, warbly and brokenly singing “I tried / I tried / I tried so hard.” Then the chorus comes crashing in like the kool-aid man, with Winter screaming “THERE’S A BOMB IN MY CAR” while the band hits a cacophonous rage. The chaos subsides, and the repeating motif that started the song comes back in. “When I went deaf / I used my eye / They stood me in line / ’Til I went blind / Get in let’s driveTHERE’S A BOMB IN MY CAR.”

A trombone, a violin, and even experimental hip hop king JPEGMafia shows up somewhere in there. Your instinct is to reject what you’re hearing — this is a mess, it doesn’t work at all, what the hell is going on. It gets your attention, but in confusing, unappealing ways. I’m on edge, cautiously proceeding onto the next song, “Cobra.” It comes in with a jaunty horn, acoustic guitar, and washboard-driven rhythm that’s actually quite pleasant. But then Winter’s voice comes back in, sounding like he’s taking on a drunken Elvis impersonator’s act. “Baby, let me dance away forever” he sings, while the band kicks it up a notch. Winter works up to the chorus, and while he’s no longer screaming, Elvis has been replaced by a lively warble that’s oddly appealing.

The album continues, through a short 46 minutes. The title track, a third of the way in, brings all the elements you heard through the opening songs together, coalescing around Winter’s unique, Dr. John meets Thom Yorke delivery. The album is expertly engineered, with each of the myriad instruments (guitars, bass, drums, cowbell, shaker, tambourine, unrecognizable background vocals) loping, crisp and clear, in a structure that feels held together by one remaining screw that’s about to rattle free. Track nine, “Bow Down,” is a personal favorite, full of the repeating rhythms the band has proven to be very adept at, with a phenomenal end-of-verse chorus: “She said, ‘you don’t know what it’s like’ / To bow down down down to Maria’s dead bones”

Hit play on “Taxes,” featured in the video above. “If you want me to pay my taxes / You’d better come over with a crucifix / You’re gonna have to nail me down.” The chorus on this song, with its beautiful musicianship broken up by Winter’s raspy drone, is uplifting and exciting. And then there’s the ballad “Au Pays du Cocaine,” which could have been a hit on the R&B charts, if the production were a little tighter and if Winter’s pained, gut-wrenching voice were replaced by almost literally any other person who calls themselves a singer. The video is quite amazing, with Winter singing “I’m alright” and sounding anything but to a literal baby before essentially becoming one himself.

I’m aware that this review sounds anything but positive. Therein lies the charm of the album. Parallels to Geese’s sound on Getting Killed can be drawn to bands that I’ve traditionally not been a fan of: Pavement, Beat Happening, The Strokes. I don’t know how to put my finger on what’s changed in me (note those three bands still don’t do it for me), but to my aging ears, Geese sound more alive than anything else has in the past five years. This is rock & roll for the post-COVID era, and I’m so here for it.

Geese have been a going concern since in 2016, when they met in high school, not yet old enough to drive. They released three albums between 2018 and 2023, attempting to find their groove but never landing on my radar. I have not heard those albums. I even saw them live in September, 2024, opening for King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at the Gorge Amphitheater, but I have no recollection of their set – I just could not be bothered to pay attention.

Then, Winter released a solo album, Heavy Metal, in December 2024¹. The internet attributes this solo turn with opening the door for him and the rest of Geese to find that special thing that led them to the amazing Getting Killed. Heavy Metal is an interesting album – it’s got the simplicity of the humorous Dot by Vulfmon (#13 in 2024), and Winter leans into the quirks of his voice throughout the album, finding a path all his own. There’s also a looseness to the production that feels very much like a precursor to Getting Killed.

2025 was a busy year for Geese, and 2026 doesn’t seem to be providing much respite. Stereogum and The New Yorker both put the album at #1, KEXP listeners voted the album #3. The band played a full live set on producer-to-the-stars Nigel Godrich’s band showcase From the Basement, and just this past weekend (January 24, 2026) Geese performed “Au Pays du Cocaine” and “Trinidad” on Saturday Night Live.

Getting Killed excites me for the future. Cameron Winter is only 23 years old, and the rest of the band can’t be any older. This album may be a turning point for the band, but it’s also a jumping off point for what will likely be a very fruitful musical career. Winter and Geese are driving this train to god knows where, but I know it’s going to be good. Strap in.

^{1. If I were making the list today, Heavy Metal would definitely be included in one-year-removed Top 31 of 2024. But it was released on the 6th of December that year, which I doubt is enough time for it to have grown on me enough to include it when actually pulling together 2024’s Top 31.↩}