Third studio album in fourteen months, and I *think* we've found some cohesion.

Seven of these fifteen tracks have parentheses in the title. On paper that reads like a band padding a tracklist with connective tissue. In practice it's the clearest evidence Goose has ever put out that they know what a studio is for. These aren't transitions between the "real" songs. Most of them are the reason to come back.

That matters because this band has spent eleven years insisting the opposite. An improvisational band at heart (you'll find live recordings with 30% songs, 70% jams on most nights), it appears they've finally struck the right chord in terms of balance on this record.

SALT runs twelve minutes and forty-three seconds and I never once wanted it shorter. That is not a sentence I write often.

This is the third studio recording since spring of 2025. D. James Goodwin produced, recorded, mixed and mastered it across Allaire Studios and The Isokon, and essentially served as a bonus band member when collaborating on the project.

SALT is the one place where the jamming and the building agree completely, which is ironic as the longest song at over 12 minutes. TORERO and SAVENGER are the tight ones, three to five minutes of a band that knows exactly where the exit is. (FAENA) is better than most of the full-length material around it. Then there's the title track. BIG MODERN! runs six and a half minutes and is the one track with a questionable mix, which cemented it not being in my top half of favorite picks from the album.

It's worth knowing what the lineup survived to get here. Founding drummer Ben Atkind left in December 2023, Cotter Ellis took the kit in February 2024, and percussionist Jeff Arevalo was removed in March 2025. Everything Must Go and Chain Yer Dragon held up in their own right, but this is the first full album made with the "new" live lineup, and far and away the most cohesive thing they've put on tape.

While virtually nothing on this record is truly skippable, there are a few places where the 69-minute track listing drags a bit. GOOD TIMES // END TIMES, ((NOCTURNE)) and ((SAVENGERSSPELL)) offer moments of genius, but can get lost amongst the other stronger tracks.

Goose in 2026 feels like the start of a new era, with only an upward trajectory.