The Dripfield Suite:
“Borne,” “Hungersite” & “Dripfield”

“Lord of the Rings.” “The Godfather.” “Austin Powers.”

Some of the best things come in trios, and that of course includes Goose’s Dripfield trio.

“Borne,” “Hungersite,” and “Dripfield,” the first three tracks off of Goose’s latest release, comprise what is known as the Dripfield trio. Featuring soaring harmonies, illustrious guitar work and nuanced jams, the trio is the amalgamation of Goose growing into their own within the studio while continuing to prove themselves as a bonafide force within the jam band community. 

The three songs debuted together as the “Dripfield” trio during the third set of Goosemas at Mohegan Sun in February, despite “Borne” having been played twice before its Connecticut debut. While the songs have been played in the same show as one another since then, the Mohegan show is currently the last time that the songs were played together in the exact Dripfield trio order. 

Okay Andrew, we get it. They’re the first three songs of the Dripfield album. What else is the importance of these songs? Remember from a few pages back how D. James Goodwin said the band knew that the Dripfield trio would be the first batch of songs to anchor this new album? And remember how I used the word “growing” two paragraphs ago? 

That word, or rather “growth,” is the central theme to the Dripfield trio — setting the proverbial mood and establishing Goose as a band that has been molded by its sudden rush to jam band stardom. 

Let’s start with “Borne.” 

Based on its unassuming and fairly light intro, you wouldn’t assume this to be a song touching on the wear of the past, while showing that the damage has only made you stronger and more resilient. 

“Enough/It's not rust/'Cause if it comes out/Broken, hoping still/It's still enough,” Rick says as he reassures the listener during the second verse that the past isn’t rusting them, but rather inspiring hope in the band.

The band recorded these songs in March 2021 — in the middle of the winter lock-down with an insatiable fanbase that only kept increasing as the band’s popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic. The band is also at a major crossroads in their career where they now had the time to focus on all of the behind-the-scenes work associated with recording music. “Borne” is the song that is the amalgamation of that process. 

“I'm not tired/I'm not worn at all/I've just started/Now I'm shown around/Just what/We were born to be,” Rick continues in the chorus, showing that the band is here to show you their potential, which is only 

starting to begin. 

If “Borne” is reassuring the listener that the band is just realizing its potential, than “Hungersite” is that potential coming to fruition. 

“Hope/It's bent like rope/Oh, I'm growing tired/Of hauling on yesterday” is the perfect line to begin the song. It is the band showing cautious optimism while also shedding its skin of preconceived notions. 

Whether it's being slapped with the label of an indie-groove band, the constant comparisons to Phish or even torch talk, the band is looking at dispelling all of those myths that have weighed down their past. The line “But brother, I'm here to stay” is like an auditory fist-bump in the next verse and low-key the best line of the song despite its simplicity. 

But in all actuality, the chorus is a beautifully crafted piece of poetry: “Is it time to shed our weapons yet my friend?/Is it love we've drawn away in our groundless low?/Can we step out of the wreckage yet my friend?/ Running all against their hungry sight/Hanging on/They've taken all/But we won't lay that down.”

In that chorus, we see a band that emerges from the “wreckage” of all preconceived notions and doubt on their current trajectory, and becomes the relentless spirit that comes to define the Goose we have today. Think of the song as climbing a mountain with multiple peaks and the final chorus that fades out being the highest peak. This idea can be reinforced with this line in one of the chorus: “There/It's only air/Nothing tethered to the garment/We're climbing through.” 

Trevor. Ben. Jeff. Rick. Peter. All decked out in hiking gear (courtesy of REI of course, right Peter?). Ready to find that next peak.

On “Dripfield,” we are long past the peaks of “Hungersite” and operating on an ethereal plain.

“How did he let down/How did he get down in it/How did he show them/How did he hold them in it” sounds like another entity remarking on Rick as he breaks through into the Stratosphere. 

What was considered impossible is now possible and Goose has done it. By the time the listener gets to the chorus, reality hits and we are sent back to the ground - or rather the ocean in this case. The first chorus really brings the band back down but not without some knowledge of what’s ahead.

“There I hear him stepping/Overhead in heaven/Oceans still I'm treading/Turned out to the retting/Caught under the crescent/Undertow I fell in/Water I keep pressing/Water I keep pressing/Down.”

More astral imagery is projected in the following lines as well as some pretty far-out pictures such as “Holy one/Constellated sum/Separated from/All above” and “Howling out the prism/Calling for the rhythm/Time's my only prison.”

 By the end of the song, the band has awakened with what feels like forbidden knowledge. They have ascended and reached their potential but realize that there is still a long way to go to yet. “Season wide/Everlasting tide/It's coming back just like/Always” reads the last line of “Dripfield” ceremoniously closing the Dripfield trio with the assurance that yes, Goose is on the right path and stonks - as they say, can only go up from here.

Since there aren’t too many versions available of the three songs, here is what I believe are the best current versions played so far:

“Borne”
3/9/22
Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI

Coming out of the gate swinging to begin this show, “Borne” is one among the many highlights of this outrageously great show. The jam is the true centerpiece of this version, sounding as though it could easily transition into “Also Sprach Zarathustra'' (the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey). The band truly explores the nebulous of space before descending into a nice outro jam that leads into “SOS.”

“Hungersite”
6/25/22
Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY 

The sit-in of Goose’s career so far began with the guitar stylings of Phish’s Trey Anastasio on “Hungersite.” While there are more comprehensive versions (such as the blistering version from the second night at the Fillmore in Philadelphia), nothing evokes such bliss more than listening to Rick and one of his guitar heroes trade licks all while creating a robust jam. 

“Dripfield”
2/26/22
Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

The live debut of “Dripfield” remains one of the undisputed, underrated jams of 2022. The jam feels like it tells the whole story of the Dripfield trio — complete with that hike up to the peak, swimming in the ethereal jam and then coming back down to the crescendo of “Goose” calls that erupted from the audience.