What do you know about Geese? On the one hand, Geese is just a rock band from Brooklyn. Fronted by the sometimes enigmatic singer Cameron Winter, the group formed a decade ago, put out a couple of albums that sound like a young band trying to figure out its sound, and started to develop a following. But things changed after they dropped their third full-length, Getting Killed, last fall. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be talking about them.
The algorithms started flooding feeds with the band’s music and the hyperbole battles began. Fans proclaimed they were saving guitar rock with one of the most inventive and original sounds in a generation. Detractors called Geese derivative and inauthentic, or, even worse, unlistenable. In short order, Geese became one of the most talked about and polarizing bands of the year.
The debates got even more heated following the band’s equally divisive performance on Saturday Night Live in late January. (We can’t wait to see what people think of Geese’s Tiny Desk, a set we actually recorded late last fall but are only able to share now).
So, on this episode of All Songs Considered, NPR Music’s Ann Powers and host Robin Hilton are joined by Yasi Salek, host of The Ringer’s Bandsplain podcast and OG (Original Geesefan), to make sense of all the fuss. Full disclosure: We all love Geese, love the band’s entire catalog, and love frontman Cameron Winter’s 2024 solo album, Heavy Metal. At the same time, it’s fair to ask, why aren’t other great rock bands (cough, Wednesday, cough) attracting the same attention?
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