The band’s second release in 2025 follows the success of April’s ‘Everything Must Go’, ‘Chain Yer Dragon’ welcomes listeners into a rich, fully-realized world of music and familiar characters, beckoning them to follow the lights and sounds through dingy barrooms and late nights on the road that dissolve into the clarity of a fresh dawn. ‘Chain Yer Dragon’ showcases Goose’s versatility, laying down 70’s-infused rock songs that feel lived-in and that come to life through improvisation. Playing with form, ‘Chain Yer Dragon” is buoyed by a natural production style that gives the album the raw, freewheeling feel of the band’s electric live shows. With tracks that span Goose’s musical career, ‘Chain Yer Dragon’ serves as a connective tissue between some of the group’s earliest, much-beloved songwriting and its current evolution as a four-piece. Featuring live staples like “Echo of A Rose,” “Empress of Organos,” “Rockdale,” and fan favorites like “Factory Fiction,” ‘Chain Yer Dragon’ embraces the band's origins. The album’s opening, featuring new tracks like “Madalena” and “Royal,” flesh out the universe of The Night Rays Band, expanding on ideas first conceived by guitarist and vocalist Rick Mitarotonda and his songwriting partner Matt Campbell back in 2011. “There’s a world-building component that feels like the driving force of this record,” Mitarotonda said. “Many of these character-driven songs come from a time and place where we were finding our voice musically and it’s been so gratifying to not only revisit it through the lens of who and where we are now, but to expand on it. These songs have been on a journey, and it feels right for them to finally have a home now.” ‘Chain Yer Dragon’ offers personalities, locales, and music to get lost in. Lyrical callbacks and textured storytelling tell a story that, while not linear, feels cohesive. The record pushes Goose’s ever-expanding musical catalog forward while serving as a reminder that sometimes, to go forward, you have to embrace the past.
