Most jam bands live for live performance. There are a few notable exceptions like Grateful Dead’s “American Beauty” and “Farmhouse” by Phish. However, most songs written by jam bands serve primarily as launchpads for interstellar instrumentals.
For example, I was at the Phish Halloween performance in 2013 where the band introduced what was then titled “Wingsuit” and later became “Fuego.” In fact, it was the last show I covered for the original version of The High Note that appeared in The Current Newspapers.
The songs were good and the album was a good listen, but nothing compared to hearing the band hone those songs for years and seeing them return to the Atlantic City beach in 2021 and 2022.
Because of that, the band’s fourth album, “Everything Must Go,” released April 25, 2025, has been on my calendar since it was announced earlier this year.
The album begins with the title track, which opens with a symphonic melody and electronic drums, with guitarist and singer Rick Mitarotonda’s vocals piercing the sound and multi-instrumentalist Peter Anspach’s keyboard playing soft chords. By the time bassist Trevor Weekz and drummer Cotter Ellis kick in the rock rhythms, the song already begins to take flight in the band’s signature ’90s-influenced rock sound.
Clocking in at nearly six minutes, the song has room for a moderate breakdown more than halfway through and takes its time getting there, capturing the band’s live vibe perfectly.
Since forming in 2014 in Wilton, Connecticut, the band has transformed most dramatically in the past year or so with founding member and original drummer Ben Atkind and percussionist Jeff Arevalo both leaving the band.
However, Arevalo can be heard on percussion and harmony on “Give It Time,” the first single from the album. The track encapsulates the feeling of listening to the band’s music in the chorus:
“It’s the next song coming on the radio
Just when you need it
So turn it up and let it go.”
It also features the first soaring guitar solo by Mitarotonda, capturing a fraction of his shred-ability as it bleeds into a harmonious vocal — something akin to watching Keith Jarrett mouthing his solos while he performs.
The band brings the funk for “Dustin Hoffman” before blending in its light-hearted, easy-breezy rock sound, punctuated by a guitar solo and a laid-back jam that helps it stretch close to the seven-minute mark.
The acoustic-led “Your Direction” has a Tom Petty vibe, and “Thatch” brings a ’70s Southern rock sound, showing the band’s range throughout “Everything Must Go.”
“Lead Up” gives off vibes similar to probably the band’s most popular song, “Hungersite,” and hints at the album title in the lyrics:
“A time will come when we won’t think twice
For now, I’ll just say I don’t mind
Do you care about tomorrow?
Just a few more minutes and
I’ll give back everything I’ve borrowed
If only we said what we meant
It wouldn’t have to show
No, it wouldn’t have to show.”
Just like the band’s live performances, by the time they get to “Lead Up,” the solos are more searing and the backing band stays in the pocket, creating a soft bed for Mitarotonda to land.
The band gets experimental on the album with both “Animal” and “Iguana Song,” strangely clocking in at exactly 7 minutes and 47 seconds. The former adopts an ’80s funky rock sound, while the latter is influenced by ’90s reggae rock and Phish.
Audiences who have seen Goose over the past year will recognize polished versions of songs they heard live, including “Red Bird,” “Atlas Dogs” and “California Magic,” all of which were performed June 28, 2024, at the Mann Center in Philly.
The longest track on the album, “Silver Rising,” is a song I had heard Goose play before, and I am glad the band gives it plenty of room to run, making it one of my favorites.
The album closes with “How It Ends,” which leads with a slow-building and repeating guitar solo that opens up the possibilities of Goose’s trajectory and makes me want to see the band live again.
On “Everything Must Go,” Goose shows why it has become one of the most popular live bands of the past few years and translates that into a studio recording worthy of a spot in its epic catalog of live shows on Bandcamp.
Get “Everything Must Go” from Goose, Bandcamp, Amazon, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, Tidal, Deezer and qobuz.
See Goose June 28 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, July 25 at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island and Sept. 27 at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Favorite Tracks
Everything Must Go
Give It Time
Dustin Hoffman
Thatch
Lead Up
Animal
Red Bird
Atlas Dogs
California Magic
Silver Rising
How It Ends
