Guster
Guster – Lost & Gone Forever
1999 - Hybrid/Sire – Pop
For their first major label release (their last album, Goldfly, was
re-released by Hybrid/Sire in 1997), Boston-based trio Guster enlisted the
skills of producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Peter Gabriel, Dave Matthews) and
engineer John Siket (Phish, Sonic Youth). In addition to these talented
collaborators, a number of other Guster fans volunteered to help out.
Among these were bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson), keyboardist/thereminist
Page McConnell (Phish), horn player Karl Denson (The Greyboy Allstars), a
sextet of contest winners who were given the opportunity to whistle along
with the band and a group of patrons from a bar near the recording studio.
Together, this motley group of varying talent have composed an album of
pop balance and bravery. Though there may not be a production tour de
force like Goldfly’s “Airport Song,” the complex BeachBoy harmonies of
“All The Way Up To Heaven” mixed with the Green Day crunch of “Barrel of a
Gun,” the Townsend-ed vocals of “Either Way,” Levin’s prog-rock tendencies
and the inventive use of everyday objects (e.g., a percussive typewriter
and semi-musical barflys) take the best from the band’s own repertoire and
musical influences to create something both comfortably familiar and
excitingly new.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1999 M. S. Robinson, ARR
Guster - Goldfly
10 Song Album
Bursting on to the sonic scene with the driving "Great Escape," Guster's
recently re-released album Goldfly quickly mellows into the insightfully
deceptive "Demon" and the island chok of "Perfect" before revving back up
to the strikingly-produced "Airport Song." Though the album has many high
points, this first single is the highest. Drifting in like a distant
storm, this cryptic offering erupts into a seething and
impressively-arranged explosion. Combining the trio's competent guitar,
bass and hand percussion with a variety of accents ranging from strings to
screams (not to mention a ping-pong ball coda), "Airport" is a
shut-up-and-crank-it song which grabs the listener by the ears and reveals
itself further which each triumphant listening. Fortunately, the album
does not give up after this early peak. Though many of the songs are
ambiguous in terms of verse-chorus contiguity and overall meaning, the
rich and simple vocal and instrumental layerings are clear and effective.
Combining peppy sways and dances like "Perfect" and "Grin" with wild antic
raves such as "Bury Me" and the gentle closer "Rocketship," Goldfly.
leaves little doubt as to why the band has recently been signed to Sire
Records and why they continue to sell-out venues in their New England home
and beyond.
- Matthew S. Robinson
© 1998 M. S. Robinson, ARR
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