Geese release their third single, ‘100 Horses’, from their upcoming album ‘Getting Killed’ and only a few days later sell out their European leg of the tour in less than 24 hours. 

Sounds like people are digging grooving along to their songs “in times of war”.

Tentative drums find their time at the start of the track, creating a feeling of spontaneity, needing to just get something out of their system without knowing what it will turn into. Each element tries to find its own unique sound and, once found, become conscious of the other parts playing around them, switching to meld with them and crash out as one. 

Cameron Winters' earthly voice cuts through the track with the first line “All people”, the drawn-out ‘all’ distorted through its length, easily mistaken for a cry. Winters’ voice is undeniably distinct and captivating in its rawness, which, combined with the unfiltered and reverberating instruments of the band, create a beautiful echo between the instrumental and vocal tone of the band. The rawness of the culminating sound of the band offers a sense of almost ironic tenderness despite the thrashing tone, but perhaps this is where true authenticity lies in the rough edges and spontaneity.

The exposed and honest nature of the track offers a backdrop to consider the more avant-garde lyrics with a sense of sincerity. The lyrics focus on what we have been told we must do in times of war, all relating to joyful and escapist activities such as smiling and dancing. The cheerful and surrealist nature of the lyrics combine to connote an air of fantasy, something to dream of and get lost in as the war rages on. With more and more people turning to their devices to numb themselves to foreign and at-home conflicts, these lyrics may call to attention the forced and weaponised tactic of escapism in times of war.

Towards the end of the track there is a reprieve from the intensity of the raging guitar and bass, stripped back to a brighter tune played out on the piano. This move towards a spacier sound could illustrate the decent into the fanciful and being drawn into the imagery of being amongst ‘100 horses dancing’. However this moment of reprieve doesn’t last long and the final verse comes around with the same intensity as the previous but this time it ends not with smiles or a dance but with the understanding that “[they] have danced for far too long / and now [they] must change completely”. In the final moments of the song they recognise that the cycle must be broken.

This latest single by Geese calls attention to our ability to be distracted by circusses and catchy tunes in a time of political unrest. However, if we are to give in to the distraction and “there [really] is only dance music in times of war”, listeners can be glad to find solace in jamming to the self-aware ‘100 Horses’ as the world caves in.

Ella Wilson-Coates

Image: Lewis Evans

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