Photo credit: Daniel Topete

Geese officially formed after the five members of the group had already played together in various contexts during high school. They found their sound naturally while writing and recording during their junior and senior years, often working from the time the last school bell rang until curfew.

“Considering how disparate each band member’s style can be at times, it’s kind of magical to look back and see how well it all blended together,” guitarist Foster Hudson notes. “For us, music was a welcome respite from our schoolwork, so we were always looking forward to any chance we got to play together. We usually started practicing the moment that we were let out from school at the end of the week. There were times when we would have to put Geese aside for our schoolwork. But, for the most part, we devoted every weekend we could to playing together, as we all had the feeling that we would much rather be doing this than our math homework.”

The band’s debut single, “Disco”—a thumping indie-rock number inspired by groups like Deerhunter and Grizzly Bear—marked the first time the five musicians recorded together, setting them on their current sonic path. “It’s still one of our more ambitious songs,” Hudson says. “While we were recording it there was a sense that we were focusing all our energy on getting that song right. Once we listened back to it after we finished it, we felt like we were moving in an entirely new direction.”

Geese signed with Partisan Records in the midst of the pandemic, a process Hudson says left their “heads spinning”—and the musicians are hoping to start playing concerts again later this year. The members of Geese had about a dozen shows under their belts when COVID-19 shut everything down, but even that handful of engagements felt like a big deal for the band. “As a group of 16 and 17 year olds working out of a basement, cold-calling venues and asking for shows was difficult,” Hudson remembers. “So every time we got a gig, it felt like a big event. If there’s one thing all five of us are looking forward to as a result of signing to Partisan, it’s playing a lot more shows.”

Next up, the youthful band is eager to reveal exactly what they’ve been doing during lockdown (and, of course, to be out of high school.) “We’re keeping a pretty tight lid on things for the moment,” Hudson teases. “But music is coming out soon.”