Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun

Guster
Ganging Up On the Sun
Reprise Records
Grade: A-

Guster may be one of the best bands that you sort of heard of. On their fifth album, their first coming 1994, the four-piece offer an exceedingly tight version of jangly indie rock glazed over with 60s and 70s warm sunshine pop. It is hard not to like this combination. And unlike thousands of bands that go for the warm, lived in feel of pop rock Guster actually have the skill and talent to pull it off, as most uniquely demonstrated on the piano-drenched “Manifest Destiny.” Thank God, because for a while you’d think this sound was dead with all the wannabes. Part of the appeal from the twelve songs on Ganging Up On the Sun is that each is slightly different from the next, keeping you interested throughout. There are rockers including “One Man Wrecking Machine,” “The New Underground,” and “The Beginning of the End;” there are softer numbers like the opener “Lightning Rod,” the lengthy “Ruby Falls,” and “Empire State;” as well as the feel-good sounds highlighted by “Satellite,” “Manifest Destiny,” the banjo picking on the grand “The Captain,” and the closer “Hang On.” Guster’s Ganging Up On the Sun is definitely one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.