Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun

For 16 years now, Guster has been one of the most consistently good bands of the decade-plus. They’ve also represented a friendly, home-grown, crunchy granola type of aesthetic; they could be neighbors knocking on your door to gift you with vegetables grown from their garden. They’ve carried that very early 90’s attitude into the new millennium, and no one questions it because they wear it so well. Even so, they have evolved in their own way, so that their sound is never boring, but always Guster.

2006 finds them with a new record, Ganging Up On the Sun, and continuing to evolve and get better at their craft. When they started, they used all hand drums (bongos, congas, and the like), and had no traditional drum kit to speak of. That tradition went out by their fourth album, Keep It Together, and I’m pretty sad to see it go. However, they started using the kit in such a way that I didn’t even notice until my third or fourth listen to that record. Ganging Up On the Sun basically picks up where Keep It Together left off, with a little more cynicism and darkness thrown into the mix. Darkness is not an unfamiliar thing for Guster; their first hit was “Airport Song,” one of the doomiest and most disconcerting tracks of the 90’s. On the average, however, Guster’s music falls into the category of “bright and hopeful” rather than “dark and depressing.” Even “Airport Song” wasn’t depressing. It just had this slightly evil undercurrent to it that made your skin crawl.

Ganging Up On the Sun starts off unlike most other records of this day and age. The typical pattern for other bands is to come storming out of the gates, but Guster chooses to sneak in while your asleep. “Lightning Rod” is a quiet and whispered intro, minor-keyed and troublesome. A good way to think about it is that “Lightning Rod” is like waking up to a soft alarm clock at 4 in the morning while the land is still dark, and the track that follows it, “Satellite,” is like getting in your car, still half-asleep, and driving down the highway just as the sun is coming up. “Satellite” starts off with a solo acoustic guitar, but eventually escalates to a point where you would be fully awake, being exciting and rollicking. “One Man Wrecking Machine” (a single), is basically a rehash of the Keep It Together track “Homecoming King” (not a single), though a first-person and much more cynical treatment. Both songs present a very bittersweet feeling to looking back at high school, and suggest there is a very fine line between reminiscing and living in the past.

“The New Underground” is about as intense as Guster gets, outshining even the Keep It Together track “Red Oyster Cult.” “C’mon” shows that life isn’t nearly as bad as Guster is making it seem. This song is bright, exciting, and invigorating, and gives the album a balance that serves it very well. If “C’mon” is the best on here, it’s seconded very closely by “Dear Valentine.” This appears to be what “C’mon” was balancing, as it’s a beautifully soft and melancholy song. “Hang On” closes the album competently, and says that the tough times are almost over with; that's a pretty comforting message.

Throughout their five albums, Guster has very few bad or even meh songs. They don’t have a plethora of great songs, either, but they’ve gone their entire career being consistently good, which is more that a lot of bands can hope for. It’s a little surprising, but Guster has quietly, calmly, and patiently built up one of the best discographies since their inception. Ganging Up On the Sun is not as good as Lost and Gone Forever or Keep It Together, but that just shows how great those records are. My message to everyone is this: if you're not into Guster, you should be.

Prime Cuts:
C’mon
Dear Valentine
Satellite
One Man Wrecking Machine

22 Rating: 14