Apocalyptic explosions and a faceplant of the ground summarise the year so far for many. Geese turns it into an album artwork as memorable as the guitar work featured throughout this latest release. 3D Country is a funky little piece, powered by heavy bassline riffs, garbled speech from vocalist Cameron Winters and a loss of faith which sprinkles in manic clutches at instruments presumably covered in cobwebs, clutched by idle hands who desire the need for banjo. Black Midi springs to mind on 2122 though not as infused with energy – though Geese still has the powerful swing necessary to elevate the indie genre. They have done it before; they will do it again. They do it too on the immaculate push of 3D Country, with its frenetic energy a key player.
Glorious rock essentialism sees Geese release one of the best art rock pieces of our time. Blurring genre, instrumental and theme from track to track, their inability to settle down brings out the best in their works. Title track 3D Country is nothing shy of a stunner, eliciting all the best of rising and moving classic rock structure but pairing it with a collection of stellar backing vocalists and a booming, warrior-like experience from Winters. 3D Country is a spot-check of every artist out there, and thus it makes Geese the finest supergroup of regular band members going. They somehow elicit all the right parts of everything whole and secure about music. Cowboy Nudes cements this and travelling on through the rest of the experience brings a comfortable intensity to everything.
Their inability to settle on a theme and to crash through genre after genre, compartmentalising what they learn in each track yet still holding firm with a theme – the switch from I See Myself to Undoer is divine – confirms what many already knew about Geese. They are hot property, great musicians with clear intentions. 3D Country confirms it. Every layer of Crusades is incredible – from its punchy lyrical poetry to the whining strings which round off the colder moments of a track no doubt set for greatness. Paired with the shimmering piano ballad structure of Gravity Blues and Winters is once more given a platform to explore his intense vocal brilliance. None of it would fit in place without enlisting some exceptional players, who make up the powerful moments 3D Country has within.
As complete a project as it gets for Geese – whose work here is beyond the pale. It is a collection of genres, a sufficient exploration into their work as music-mad individuals who can piece together parts of other periods. 3D Country serves as a near-perfect example of bold and confident music-making. They have been around for a while, kicking away at their sound and forming it into what listeners can hear today. 3D Country is the future. Nothing less than greatness should be expected of this noisy experience – one which will linger on the mind for quite some time. End it all with St. Elmo, a divine conclusion to an album which has large patches of perfection to it.
