many people have referred to ganging up on the sun and keep it together as guster simply growing up. if growing up is marginalizing the thundergod’s gift to mankind (bongoes anyone?) to two or three tracks (if that) i say boo.

i’ll concede, the one man wrecking machine music video charmed the pants off me.

Guster’s Lost and Gone Forever and Keep It Together are two of my favorite albums, so I had high hopes for Ganging Up on the Sun. Unfortunately, very few of the songs play to Guster’s strengths; their delicious vocal harmonies, clever lyrics, and killer pop hooks are in short supply. The music sounds almost anonymous – many of the songs could be by any competent indie pop band.

But it’s still “Worth listening!” because “Manifest Destiny” is very good; “C’mon” is good but a little desperate, and there are a couple more true-to-form Guster tracks on there.

I don’t want to sound like I oppose the evolution of this band. Lost and Gone Forever and Keep It Together are very different-sounding albums, but they both let Guster show what really makes them special. This one, not so much.

Read my review here:
Guster: Ganging Up on the Sun