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One of the finest acts to emerge from the crowded New York City music scene in recent years is Brooklyn-based trio Gooseberry. Originally formed as a four-piece in 2019, the band now consists of the very talented Asa Daniels (guitar, vocals), Evin Rossington (drums), and Will Hammond (bass). Together they blend indie rock, R&B and light jazz to create their own distinctive and sophisticated style of alternative rock. On the strength of their outstanding music catalog and high-energy live shows, the charismatic trio have built quite a following of loyal fans throughout greater New York region and beyond.
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Gooseberry has released a fair amount of music since 2020, including two EPs, Broken Dance (2022) and Validate Me (2023), as well as numerous singles. I love their music, and have previously featured them twice on this blog. Two of their songs, “Sleep” and “Orbit”, spent many weeks on my Top 30 chart, with the former ranking #29 on my 100 Best Songs of 2022 list and the latter, which has been streamed more than 300,000 times on Spotify, ranking #95 among my 100 Best Songs of 2023.
Their latest single, which dropped Friday, June 14th, is “Dying To Meet You“, which follows their provocative ripsnorter “Kikiyon”, a song “challenging the absurdity of debating trivial matters and calling for prioritizing unity over frivolous disputes, also exploring the deep personal connection to Jewish culture and the significance of owning one’s name, rejecting attempts to control their identity.” Both songs will be included on their forthcoming debut album All My Friends Are Cattle.
“Dying To Meet You” is both sonically stunning and savage, a dangerous combination that makes for a very exciting listen. Written by Asa Daniels, the track was produced and engineered by Colin Bryson, with drums engineered by Jimmy Meslin, mixed by Phil Joly and mastered by Jennica Best. The song opens rather tentatively, with Asa’s beautiful gentle vocals accompanied by his shimmery strummed guitar. The music quickly expands with an ominous drumbeat, which is soon joined by Will’s throbbing bassline, Evin’s assertive drums and Asa’s gnarly guitar notes, all of which transform the song into a glorious and grungy psychedelia-tinged tour de force. Asa’s normally soothing vocals grow more impassioned along with the music, rising to fearsome screams in the choruses, courtesy of a tiny handheld distortion mic their producer Colin brought into the studio for Asa to scream into, which he says was very cathartic. It’s cathartic for us listeners too, leaving us speechless and spent by song’s end. I love this song and I love this band!
About “Dying To Meet You”, Asa elaborates: “With the obvious disclaimers that 1) art is whatever you make of it, and 2) I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about nearly 100% of the time, here’s my take on the song: It’s about death. Or maybe life? Certainly one of the two. Maybe both. Look, none of us knows much about what happens next, but some of us certainly feel a lot more confident in their answer than others and that never made much sense to me. I’ve always been fascinated by the human need to know about what happens after all this. In prior centuries, there were whole industries built around guaranteeing salvation (and to some extent, there still are)! That this song is mysterious and eerie is the point. It should feel like something beyond explanation is peering over your shoulder waiting for you to turn your head around because it is! I wanted the song to sonically convey the sense of unease we all feel when thinking a little too deeply about closing our eyes for good.”
When the curtain starts to open And everyone is gone You feel so damn cold You burn like the sun Keep your head above the water Keep your eyes beneath the gun You’ll never be so certain I’m pretty sure I am But who could ever bend The will of a man? Keep your eyes up to the heavens Like you’d ever understand You’re here for a lifetime Then you’re not I, I’m dying to meet you I, I’m dying to meet you Again, I am So come out of the shadows I know that’s where you live Because it’s easier to steal life Than it is to give Keep your eyes down to the heavens Like you know just where it is You’re here for a lifetime Then you’re not I, I’m dying to meet you Well I, I’m dying to meet you There I am dying to meet you Well I am dying I am dying to meet you Again You’re here for a lifetime Then you’re not I, I’m dying to meet you Yes I am I, I’m dying to meet you Again, again, again I, I’m dying to meet you Well you know I am I, I’m dying to meet you The single cover art was created by Charlie Chalkin, Asher Reed and band bassist Will Hammond, and the colorful and trippy animated video was created by Austin Koenigstein and Melissa Morrissey.
Gooseberry’s Socials: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok
Find their music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube
I happened to have my headphones on when I saw your post and checked out “Dying to Meet You” right away. It sounds great!
The name Gooseberry also rang a bell. I haven’t covered the group to date but most likely read about them on your blog. I also like Kikiyon.
I just wrote down the name of their forthcoming album “All My Friends Are Cattle,” which looks like is scheduled for Sep 6.
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Yes, I wrote about them in 2022 and again in May of last year. I really like them and their music.
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Great song!
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Glad you like it Irwin. I love these talented guys.
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LOL totally felt this sentiment: “About “Dying To Meet You”, Asa elaborates: “With the obvious disclaimers that 1) art is whatever you make of it, and 2) I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about nearly 100% of the time, here’s my take on the song: It’s about death. ” – speaking my language there
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Asa’s a pretty insightful and articulate guy!
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Great sound!
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Thanks Tiffany! I love this band.
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