Album Review: 'Goose' by Treeboy & Arc

It’s here. The sophomore album for Leeds darlings Treeboy & Arc; ‘Goose’. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has been more hotly anticipated than this release except maybe the moon landing or a tram system in our great city. 

The excitement for this album has been building for over a year. It can be seen as far back as issue two of Stub Quarterly in which Treeboy & Arc’s headline set at Hyde Park Book Club on 31st January 2025 was reviewed. At that point there were ‘new’ songs including ‘Personal Best’ being revealed to the crowd, teasing that the band had something special under their hat, ready to reveal at their choosing. 

Then we waited and waited a little more. Querying when the great day would be upon us that the new Treeboy anthems would be ours to devour. Then, almost a year to the day of the HPBC set, ‘Red’ hit the airwaves and the Leeds music scene was put on notice that ‘Goose’ would be with us in April. So, why the wait? Is ‘Goose’ all we have collectively hyped it up to be? How would it compare to Treeboy & Arc’s debut album, ‘Natural Habitat’?

To start to answer these questions let’s compare the lead singles of ‘Goose’ and ‘Natural Habitat’; ‘Retirement’ and ‘Red’. In the former, drums, bass and guitar heads the charge with complex wordplay slaloming between them. Synth edges in an out of ear shot like a child screaming on a roundabout. ‘Red’ however sees synth laying down a steady, strong repetitive beat alongside drums. Guitars compliment rather than dominate, with the lyrics being concise and repetitive to build in a memorable lyrical hook that will have the crowd screaming as they lose control of their emotions to trance induced rhythms. 

This is heard throughout the album and shows a band’s sound that has been stripped down to its bare components and rebuilt into something new. It’s all that was there previously but reconsidered to keep it fresh and interesting. A band’s sound, synthesised (pun intended).

It is also worth mentioning the dialled back pace of songs including ‘Fallen Arch’ and ‘County Lines’. Sometimes less really is more to let each component part shine and add to the well-rounded feel of the album. There is time for introspection as well as bopping, all within the tight 39 minutes of the album. 

Taken as a whole, this really is the golden Goose (last pun, I promise). Some things take time to craft to make sure they are perfect. Pushing out ‘more of the same’, quickly, colours a band in a certain light and can be a common downfall, something that Treeboy & Arc are clearly keen to avoid. Craft, however, also requires skill and experience; something Treeboy & Arc have by the bucketload. This holy trinity of time, skill, and experience is what makes 'Goose' exciting, refreshing, and faultless. It takes all three elements to give the confidence to turn something great into something stand out. Has ‘Goose’ lived up to the hype? Stub are pleased to confirm that is has and more. Tell a friend, go see them live, and go buy the album; this is art punk at its finest. 

Within hours of issues 6 being released Treeboy & Arc confirmed that the band would be calling it quits. They therefore take the title for quickest group to disband after featuring on the cover of Stub (previously held by the Oidz). More importantly, the Leeds music scene lost one of the jewels in its crown. Sad times. 

Words by the Editor (Jim Lazenby). Picture of the album cover provided by Treeboy & Arc (Album Artwork by @joelburden. Album layout and typography by @in.the.flat.field).