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Geese:
Self-Titled
The original idea for Pink Floyds Atom Heart Mother was to make an entire album using only commonly found household items for instruments. Think brooms with rubber bands for guitars, trashcans for drums, etc. kind of a British, psychedelic Stomp. Of course, they ended up scrapping that idea and making one of the weirdest albums that every freshman in high school has probably listened to at least once. Weird as it is, there is a subtle beauty that slinks underneath the music that keeps people coming back to an album where one half of it is devoted to breakfast. The new Geese album is somewhat similar. Both bands are British, both have a penchant for weirdness that is also tempered with a keen melodic sense, and both seem to be musically attracted to a sort of pastoralism. There is a sense of the countryside; granted, it is a weird, drugged out countryside, but birds chirp and acoustic guitars play to simple melodies while sometimes calming, sometimes ominous things seem to be happening in the background. This creates an interesting if somewhat disconcerting impression while listening to the album. It is almost as though you are wandering through a small seaside town and into the countryside in some sort of bizarre, psychedelic fishbowl. Sound effects drift in and out: a small marching band, birds, strange brass instruments, etc. Often the singing is subdued, but sometimes it becomes ominous like Roger Waters on a bad trip. On one of the tracks, this freaked out Roger Waters-like fellow is apparently very upset about future cars, and he rails about his particular issue over music that wouldnt sound out of place on a Berlin-era Bowie album. Overall, the songs on this album are interesting and, for the most part, are rewarding on repeated listens. They are, however, bookended by extremely long and strange disintegrated soundscapes that open and close the album. This record works very well as an album that is listened to as a complete piece, but it is a little oddly and maddeningly weird in parts. Geese would do well to focus their energies and ditch the Dark Side of the Moon era electronics, but that aside, Geese are clearly a talented band with a future ahead of them.
This album can be purchased at the Geese Official Website About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
