Music and Recording Reviews

Goose: Everything Must Go
No Coincidence Records 0617308092165 (auditioned as LP). 2025.
D. James Goodwin, prod. and eng.
Performance *****
Sonics *****

Since late last year, Goose has emerged as one of the most talked-about bands in rock. Building on its jam-band roots, the group recently headlined Madison Square Garden, got booked for top slots at major summer festivals, and drew attention from national news outlets. Everything Must Go, Goose's fourth album, feels like both a culmination of that momentum and a bold new chapter. It's a 14-track, 91-minute journey through road-honed favorites, plus new songs that are among their strongest yet.

Recorded with producer and longtime collaborator D. James Goodwin, Everything Must Go stays connected to Goose's guitar-driven roots as it embraces splashes of pop color. Tracks like the single "Give It Time" retain the band's dynamic swells and soaring guitar climaxes, elements longtime fans will recognize, even cherish. But there's a new sense of maturity here—likely shaped by the patience the group showed in road-testing this material—and a pushing of musical boundaries.

The new songs are standouts, none more so than the album's third track, "Dustin Hoffman." It's a funky strut with tight horns and a slick groove, evoking Lowell George–led Little Feat, perhaps with a dash of Tower of Power brass. On the other end of the spectrum is "Your Direction," a breezy slice of '70s Southern California yacht rock reinvented for the 2020s and capped with a ride-out featuring Larry Carlton–like guitar lines. That blend of groove and refinement carries through the entire record. Every spin uncovers new textures and choices, evidence of a band thinking in album-length arcs.

The vinyl edition is a lavish five-sided release, with a visual identity as considered as the music. Side six features the cover art imprinted in the vinyl—a final flourish that turns a great record into a collector's prized possession.—Ray Chelstowski

Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke: Tall Tales
Warp Records 505681800856 (auditioned as LP). 2025. Mark Pritchard, prod.; Josh Wermut, eng.
Performance ****
Sonics *****

Thom Yorke first met producer Mark Pritchard after a Radiohead concert in 2012, leading to a brief collaboration in 2016. Four years after that, during the pandemic, Yorke reached out again, asking if Pritchard had material in progress. That exchange sparked a remote partnership: The two traded some 20 demo files, which eventually evolved into Tall Tales.

The album is devoid of guitars. It feels more like an ambient experiment than a rock record. It sets Pritchard's compositions in a landscape of synths, manipulated vocals, and abstract sonic textures. Drum tracks weave in and out of each song, anchoring the shifting textures and keeping it from dissolving into atmosphere. It's a dense, immersive listen, but rewarding.

Centered around themes of dread, disconnection, and crisis, Tall Tales has been fittingly described as a lockdown record. The mood is bleak at first, but it gradually builds to include solid percussive moments like the funky "Gangsters," a track that finds the team locking into an infectious groove, free from obvious pessimism.

Woodwinds surface throughout the album. Oboes and clarinets thread into the electronic fabric and deepen the sense of scale. The record is less a collection of songs than a sustained audiovisual concept. No surprise, then, that a companion film, directed by Jonathan Zawada, heightens the atmosphere and sharpens the record's thematic focus.

There's a tortured-artist appeal to Tall Tales that some listeners will connect to and others will reject. Clearly, this record was never meant to deliver hooks or hits. It's about exploring the outer edges of song structure and sonic texture using mood as a primary language. Like the tall tales it references, the album trades in distortion, symbolism, and imagination stretched to its limits. This is one fever dream you may be happy you joined.—Ray Chelstowski

Sons Of The East: SONS
Bry Jones, Nic Johnston, prods.; Lachlan Mitchell, eng.
Sons of the East Records, SOTE06V (auditioned as CD). 2025.
Performance ****
Sonics ****

Sons of the East, a trio from the northern beaches of Australia, has spent the last decade building a global fan base, amassing more than 700 million streams and 75 million YouTube views across their singles, EPs, and debut album. With this, their second full-length outing, the Oz outfit is poised for an even wider breakthrough.

Blending CS&N-style harmonies, Gram Parsons–inflected country, and vocals that recall Gasoline Alley–era Rod Stewart, the band has carved out a signature sound that has broad appeal. Recorded in the musicians' own studio, the album reflects a lovely DIY ethos and captures the unpolished energy of their live shows. It's a relaxed record that seems engineered for long drives and open windows. For example, the record opener, "It's Alright," is a sun-warmed track that channels the easy surf feel of Donavon Frankenreiter.

The single "Rescue Me" shows how Sons of the East tap into the anthemic folk-pop style made popular by artists like troubadour Noah Kahan, underpinned by Mumford-style rhythmic builds. The arrangement is layered, with a strong bluegrass presence that's central to the group's sound. "Pour the Wine" evokes the loose, communal ramble of classic tracks by the Band.

The album stumbles when songs like "Recognise" lean too heavily into the production. What would normally feel like a genuine anthem acquires a whiff of formula. At worst, the polish nudges the sound toward boy-band territory, when the group's real strength lies in looser, more organic arrangements. This is demonstrated to a fault on the closing track, "Hard to Tell." The song takes its time to grow from a bare arrangement to a peak that has earned its heft, and it knows when it's time to split. More moments like that, and SONS would be a must-spin.—Ray Chelstowski

Hayden Pedigo: I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away
MEX374 Mexican Summer (WAV files). 2025. Scott Hirsch, prod. and eng.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****

Still prone to painting his face blue and donning outrageous cowboy outfits, fingerpicking marvel Hayden Pedigo says he's gotten serious for this third and final installment of his Motor Trilogy albums. After the success of 2023's The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored, Pedigo—whose playing echoes that of spiritual forefather John Fahey—toured with Jenny Lewis, Devendra Banhart, and Hiss Golden Messenger. Then he retreated to a remote Wyoming ranch where he, a native of Amarillo, Texas, composed these new pieces.

Instrumental solo acoustic albums offer no place to hide. Weak writing and sloppy playing gets exposed. While many of these recordings feature subtle, well-arranged accompaniment, Pedigo's fingerwork is the focal point throughout. Staying clear of effects pedals, he favors a pure, ringing tone. Electric guitars appear in sparing bursts.

Produced by Scott Hirsch of Hiss Golden Messenger, who also plays bass on the album, the gathering of backing musicians here includes Nathan Bieber (violin), Jens Kuross (piano), and Nicole Lawrence (pedal steel). The clean, detailed recording accentuates Pedigo's gifts.

Despite all the well-hyped goofs and angularities of his personality—the album's title comes from what he calls a "pretty devastating" episode of TV's Little House on the Prairie—Pedigo has a real talent for bringing out the beauty inherent in the resonances of six- and 12-string acoustic guitars. His melodies tend to be simple yet highly emotive. "Houndstooth" and "Hermes" are gorgeous examples of this: Both are short, accessible, impressionistic pieces. Pedigo's pacing and nimble fingering are impeccable throughout.

The title track, featuring a ghostly pedal steel, is another triumph. On the last track, "End Credits," we hear the guitarist's voice as he thanks everyone for listening. He's more than welcome.—Robert Baird