On November 18th, Trinity FM held a Cameron Winter lookalike contest/new album listening party, with the winner receiving a CD of their new album, Getting Killed. The event drew a crowd donned with workwear jackets, baggy jeans, and mops of curly hair into the dimly lit Atrium to compete for their prize. The judge panel, made up of members of Trinity FM, asked the lookalikes questions like “what is the best place to listen to Cameron Winter?” and “would you rather be Cameron Winter or be with Cameron Winter?” The latter received a response from student Daniel Cassiday, answering, “so it’s either smells bad or be with someone who smells bad”. After some deliberation, the judges revealed the winner to be student Patrick Hayden. The event took place in light of the recently popular band taking the indie rock genre by storm. Geese released their fifth album towards the end of September after their lead singer, Cameron Winter, made his solo debut earlier this year.
The rag tag band feels like any garage band that your next door neighbor or the kid behind you in math class was a part of. This element, combined with their post-modern, cryptic lyricism has propelled them into fame with many Gen Z indie music lovers. The band was started in high school and includes their frontman, Cameron Winter; drummer, Max Bassin; guitarist, Emily Green; and bassist, Dom Digesu. Winter and Bassin began in Bassin’s parents basement in High Point Brooklyn at age fourteen, releasing their first album by the time they were sixteen, which is no longer available on streaming platforms. By the time they had graduated high school, they had released a second album and had really embraced their indie rock and punk sound, bearing resemblance to The Strokes and Talking Heads. It is much more polished but a quintessentially Brooklyn garage band record.
Their third album, 3D Country, pivots from their punk rock lane and is much more experimental. The album is more jumpy, goofy and embraces a more sunny sound. Lead singer Cameron Winter really finds his signature voice here, Pitchfork describing his voice as “liberated” and noting that the rest of the band keeps this energy up. Their spheres of influence begin to widen, receiving comparisons to Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen as well as Alex Turner and Radiohead.
In 2024, frontman Cameron Winter juxtaposes the band’s ecstatic punk rock with a woozy, mellow solo album: Heavy Metal, utilizing Joycean lyricism and his signature wailing baritone. His voice becomes an essential instrument, crooning and yelping lyrics embedded with desire and disappointment. The album feels cathartic, Winter yelling in his song $0 that “God is real” as if he is a prophet. As Winter came into his voice in 3D Projector, he solidified his yawp on Heavy Metal, employing lyricism that embodies the black-pilled but maladaptive Gen Z listeners minds.
Heavy Metal really resonated with the growing indie rock base of artists like MJ Lednerman, Mk.gee, Alex G, primarily made up of young people who mourn the sincerity of the influences of The Rolling Stones and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard but feel it can’t be recreated in a digital age. Geese feel tapped into this consciousness, but don’t feel disingenuous. A common term in the growing Gen Z lexicon is “industry plant”, which refers to when an artist or band becomes popular from a backing of large record labels as opposed to organic growth. There is a sense of disillusionment that comes from releasing how tight the grip of capitalism has on the music industry, one that is seeping into the mindset of the Gen Z fanbase. Geese provides a refreshing sense of authenticity mixed with raw talent, one that they perfect in their new album Getting Killed.
The band fully embraces their groovy sound, denying their punk rock beginnings, and includes Winter’s warble working with producer Kenny Beats. Winter’s commanding writing continues in this record, chanting and proclaiming ominous statements in songs like 100 Horses, but also yearning, grasping love songs in Half Real. The band seems to have really defined their signature sound, marrying elements of traditional rock and indie pop for a sonorous display of post-punk mastery. Pitchfork describes its defining quality as “a restless, untameable curiosity, less set on conclusive wisdom than a pervading faith in the flailing”. It takes after The Velvet Underground and Leonard Cohen, more folksy influences than previous records. However, comparisons to Thom Yorke are consistent throughout all Geese’s work. The album is explosive yet meditative, highlighting Winter’s raspy vocals and his poetic lyrics while the bass and guitar backbone the steady momentum. It truly solidifies their emergence from just another Brooklyn band or just a viral moment into a demonstration of their range, ambition and sheer, raw talent.
