GEESE IMPRESS DURING THEIR FIRST RUN OF UK SHOWS
Geese are making a lot of noise with their debut album and first tour through Europe, so if you aren’t already listening, then you certainly should be.
On Wednesday 17th November, Geese played their first ever show in Europe at The Windmill in Brixton, marking the beginning of their UK mini-tour. The buzz around this show was clear upon entering the venue and it was immediately obvious why Geese’s London shows had sold out so quickly; Numerous photographers were anxiously stationing themselves around the stage, while familiar faces in the crowd included members of upcoming UK bands, radio DJs, and record label representatives.
This excitement is seemingly off the back of the band’s debut album ‘Projector’, which was released last month, winning over enough people to get them signed to Partisan Records - which is also home to music giants like IDLES and Fontaines DC. Geese appear to have been influenced by many popular UK post-punk bands, which may suggest why their sound resonates so much with the scene around The Windmill. It was the perfect starting point for their run of UK shows, with the following nights being held at Sebright Arms and Third Man Records in Soho, opened by Jack White only a couple of months ago.
The evening of live music began with a set from the Speedy Wunderground signed trio, Honeyglaze. Having seen them exactly two months prior supporting Dan Carey’s supergroup The Monophonics, I was expecting a similar set. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that their show was already littered with new tracks. The self described ‘clamouring superorganism’ had only just released their newest single ‘Creative Jealousy’ earlier that day, a relaxing track which is a straight-speaking and realistic reflection on the natural urge of comparison when you are an artist surrounded by other creatives. The set also previewed some exciting unheard tracks, some of which move away from the soft vocals that Honeyglaze usually feature, instead dabbling in a heavier sound. Honeyglaze continue to support incredible acts, with a support slot for Katy J Pearson coming up in a matter of weeks, so it shouldn’t be long before we get the pleasure of hearing more from them.
Next it was time for Geese’s highly anticipated UK debut. They hung up a New York Mets cap and jumped straight into an unreleased track titled ‘2122’. Some of the guys in the band have been playing together since they were kids, which is clear when you notice how comfortable they all are with each other on stage. The band stars Cameron (front man), Gus (guitar), Foster (guitar), Max (drums) and Dom (bass), all of whom are only 19 and perform with a worthy confidence that is extremely impressive considering their age. They play with a clear sense of joy, something that can be surprisingly hard to find in live shows. As the set went on, they bumped into each other on stage laughing, joking and dancing in a way that helped them fully connect with the crowd.
The setlist included popular tracks such as ‘Exploding House’, which threw us quickly into fast-paced sonic mayhem before slowing and allowing the band's front man, Cameron, to deliver an ardent performance of the vocals. ‘Exploding House’ has an obscure evolution that feels like snippets of different songs that are all (somehow) smoothly meshed together, resulting in a mixture of different vibes.
Fan favourite ‘Low Era’ instantly won the crowd over and got them dancing as soon as the guitar riff began. This felt like the perfect song to drop into the middle of the somewhat heavier set, an undeniable feel good track with a groovy bass and catchy chorus, both of which are quickly able to draw in new listeners. In the middle of this crazy show Geese fell into the dreamy introduction of one of their slower songs, ‘First World Warrior’. The soft repetitiveness of the guitar riff and Cameron’s impressive vocals made this sleepy track a welcome interval amongst all the madness.
The NYC band closed the show on their lead single, ‘Disco’ - the track that initially introduced me to them and gave me enough reason to be excited about what was to come. To close their debut UK show with their debut single was the most obvious choice, especially considering the grandeur of its 7-minute build and the live delivery. With an introductory bassline reminiscent of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’, the band have described it as a “song that sounds like it’s perpetually on the verge of collapse — and yet it always manages to keep itself together”. This is a sentiment that felt mirrored on stage with their organised chaos as they closed the show with a dramatic flair, Foster throwing his shirtless self into the drum kit.
Geese are very clearly only just getting started and are a band guaranteed to have a myriad of exciting bookings on the horizon. This is already evidenced as they were supposed to be supporting IDLES at their (sadly cancelled) surprise Paris show on the 29th November, ironically only a few weeks after their drummer Max sported an IDLES shirt at the Windmill show. If you’re regretting not catching them this time around, they will thankfully be back in the UK for a full tour in February 2022. This time they are visiting Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow and London again, as well as heading over to Ireland for a Dublin show. As a relatively new band, their live performance is guaranteed to get better with time, so head down to one of their live shows next year. If you take anything from this review, it’s that sometimes you should believe the hype.
Image Credits: Nicole Osrin | @nicoleosrin
