Guster - Ganging Up On The Sun

Genre rock Publisher Reprise Records External Links Official Guster Website Official Reprise Records Website

It's been almost ten years since Guster's major label debut Goldfly hit the shelves. It was an album stuffed with experimental sounds and an added touch of folk at a time when the Dave Matthews-traveling-suburban-hippie-fest was the most happening thing in college. Since then, the psychedelic aspect of their music has slowly slipped away with each passing album leaving a more grassroots style of pop-folk. The second album, Lost and Gone seemed to begrudgingly hold on to the dream, while the third Keep It Together finally put the weirdness to rest.

Whether or not the abandonment of the tripped-out, college-stoner-music can be considered a bad thing or not, I'm unsure. Guster is one of those bands that has held on to a strong and passionate fan base regardless of change. This is easy to understand if you've ever seen them play live as they are remarkably polished and manage to tread an area that sits between pop rock and jam band nostalgia.

I've always seen Guster as America's answer to Gomez, who started making similar music around the same time and have succumbed to temptation to make more radio friendly music. The big difference, however, is that Gomez sounded amazing at the start of their career, only to disappoint over and over again. For Guster, the changes have come across rather painlessly and may even be slowly propelling the band into some kind of rock semi-stardom.

With Guster's latest, Ganging Up On The Sun, the band finds a way to bring back their flair for creating music that's just a little trippy, while further exploiting their cutesy pop rock tendencies without going back on their creative ambitions. With a first week debut at number twenty-five on the Billboards Top 200 (the bands highest yet) and the addition of producer/multi-instrumentalist Joe Pisapia, the formula seems to be working out in their favor. The album carries a more serious and mature sound than any of Guster's previous efforts. The first song to prove this is "Satellite," which sounds like Belle and Sebastian with a loopy mod style keyboard hook and ominous vibe. The second single, "One Man Wrecking Machine," might be the one song that truly defines Guster's sound, what with its beautiful lyrics and melodies; it's a song that anyone can easily recognize as Guster, but with the maturity and craftsmanship of a band that's been around for a while.

Having Pisapia around on this album to contribute his Nashville flavor on the banjo and steel guitar proves to be an added bonus. On "The Captain," the band conjures up some better alt-country that bests early Wilco, creating an entirely improved sound than what we've heard from Guster before. The added dynamic to their music also creates a distinct diversity. From the arena feel of "Ruby Falls" to the psychedelic climax of "The Beginning Of The End," Ganging Up On The Sun is surely the best thing from Guster yet. I guess Gomez will just have to hang out in boredom land all alone.