To say that things have changed for jam band darlings Goose since the 2022 release of their previous studio album, Dripfield, would be a stark understatement.
A startling rise in the Connecticut-based ensemble’s popularity has seen the quartet – now consisting of Rick Mitarotonda (guitar), Peter Anspach (keys/guitar), Trevor Weekz (bass) and Cotter Ellis (drums) – garner national acclaim and graduate from playing clubs & theatres to selling out arenas & amphitheatres across the country. Their upcoming debut headlining performance at Madison Square Garden later this summer marks another impressive feather in their collective caps.
However, any band that experiences a series of career-defining highs is often also faced with a corresponding nadir, a rule that Goose has not been exempt from, especially as of late. In December 2023, the group announced the shocking decision to part ways with drummer and founding member Ben Atkind. Quickly replaced with Burlington, Vermont-based percussionist Cotter Ellis, the reshuffled quintet continued, seemingly without a hitch.
2024 saw the band reach a creative apex during a wildly successful summer tour that produced standout gigs at Philadelphia’s Mann Center and New York’s Forest Hills Stadium before capping the year off with a two-night “black-tie” extravaganza at the Moody Center in Austin, TX.
Just when it seemed like things were finally back to normal, the band dropped another bombshell in March of 2025 with the stunning, and quite frankly concerning, announcement that percussionist Jeff Arevalo had been asked to leave the group due to “behavior…that does not align with the band’s core values.” An equally cryptic response from Arevalo continues to pose significantly more questions than answers.
It was around the same time that all this drama started brewing, in May 2023, when Goose first entered Dreamland Studios in upstate New York to begin work on their fourth studio album, Everything Must Go. Inspired by the leadership of producer and long-time musical accomplice, D. James Goodwin, Goose eventually settled on a monstrous tracklist totaling 14 entries that spans over 90 minutes.
Unlike the previous genre-bending Dripfield LP that saw the band making a concerted effort to adopt a more indie pop sound, Everything Must Go embraces the group’s jam band roots. Several of the album’s tracks carve out ample breathing room, allowing Mitarotonda to lead the band to cathartic tension-and-release, patiently fueled, guitar peaks that are hallmarks of their live performances.
The LP’s eponymous opening track immediately establishes newest member Cotter Ellis as a musical focal point thanks to an impressive array of mesmerizing percussive runs. (For the record, Anspach did mention to Steven Hyden of UPROXX during a January 2025 interview that the album was half recorded with Atkind and half with Ellis, though several of the older Atkind tracks were ultimately edited to include Ellis.)
“Give It Time”, with its evangelical influences, serves as a triumphant celebration of how far the group has come since its inception and is one of many tracks on the LP composed by Mitarotonda and longtime songwriting partner Matt Campbell.
The first of a small handful of newer songs on the album that have yet to make their concert debut, “Dustin Hoffman” surprises as one of Everything Must Go’s standout moments. Starting as a funky ’70s strut, the track seamlessly shifts to an adult-contemporary-infused chorus teeming with ’90s-inspired horn arrangements courtesy of an impressive brass trio led by another longtime collaborator, saxophonist Stuart Bogie. “Your Direction” shines as another album highlight thanks to a strong Fleetwood Mac influence and breezy West Coast vibes that seemingly belie the group’s staunch New England roots.
The core of Everything Must Go consists of a hearty septet of tried-and-true concert staples, starting with the dark and brooding “Thatch”, replete with a sinister outro jam akin to its live counterpart. The alt-rock vibes of “Lead Up” pay homage to some of Goose’s strong indie influences, such as Lord Huron & Bon Iver, and showcase Mitarotonda’s diverse songwriting abilities before leading into the dance-party special, “Animal.” In addition to another helping of intricate horn charts, Goodwin’s impressive production skills are on full display here, subtly using effects and instrumentation to transform the rural New York studio into a swath of the Amazon jungle as the band slowly builds towards a frenzied peak.
The atmospheric electric-piano strains of “Red Bird”, one of the few Anspach-penned compositions on the album, embrace the listener like a warm blanket before giving way to the tribal pulsings of “Atlas Dogs.” The aforementioned horn trio, consisting of Bogie, Dave Nelson (trombone) and Andrew McGovern (trumpet), bring a touch of the Big Easy to the sunny shores of the Pacific Coast on a dramatic reading of “California Magic” and keep things going by providing more dance-party vibes on “Feel It Now.”
The album wraps things up with “Iguana Song”, a musical oddity that features some chiptune synth runs and strong Ween influences before concluding on an optimistic note with a two-song suite consisting of “Silver Rising” and the aptly titled “How It Ends.”
Despite any personnel issues the band may currently be embroiled in, or perhaps inspired by the challenges they present, it is clear that Goose is performing as well as they ever have since their 2014 inception. Culled from a perfectly-balanced selection of road-tested fan-favorites mixed with newer material, Everything Must Go stands out as the group’s most comprehensive and gratifying studio release to date.
