MattA75's Full Review: Lost and Gone Forever by Guster
Being from Boston, most of you may find it odd that I hadn't ever heard a song from Guster, a three piece band that has come across pretty good success in a musical climate of angry rap-rock acts and teenybopper pop acts, until a week ago. Don't get me wrong, I certainly had heard all about this band. Our local music critics seem to love these guys. So I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about, and I made yet another trip to the local library and checked out their major label debut, Lost and Gone Forever.
SO WHO ARE GUSTER?
As previously mentioned, Guster is a three piece rock outfit from Boston, although they do experiment with a plethora of sounds, moods, and instruments, so it probably is unfair to pigeonhole them. The members are as follows:
Ryan Miller: vocals, guitar
Adam Gardner: vocals, guitar
Brain Rosenworcel: percussion
The first thing that sets this band apart is something you see in the liner notes: "all of the drums on this album were played by hand (no sticks)." Now you're probably thinking "what kind of rock band doesn't play drums with sticks?" And I'll give you your answer. An innovative band, a creative band, and at times, especially on this record, a brilliant band.
I'm not quite sure any song has gotten into my head and refused to leave in the past year or so as the first track, What You Wish For, has. This song is catchy, especially in the chorus ("What you wish for, won't come true, you aren't surprised, love, are you?")
Once that song ends, you're thrown into a rather driving rock song called Barrel of a Gun. But this song isn't as straightforward as you may think. The chorus shows this band's uncanny harmonizing skills, and I have to admit that having a typewriter as an integral part of any song is ingenious. The fact they actually pull it off and that it sounds good is all the more impressive.
The opening of track six, Center of Attention, immediately had me thinking about the old TV show The Wonder Years. As the song progressed on my player, I was amazed, because despite the 4 or 5 changes it goes through musically, it is a quintessential break up and coming of age song that has as many hooks as anything else on the record, and by the end, they've managed to sound like everyone from Dave Matthews Band to Split Enz in one song.
The highlight of the album by far for me, however, was the anthemic and beautiful song Happier. Despite the somewhat sarcastic tone of the lyrics, this song hit me hard, although your interpretation may be a lot different than mine.
Also of note on this record is the intensely melodic yet hushed So Long, and the somewhat somber album closing Rainy Day.
There are a couple of songs on here that do nothing for me (the chaotic Two Points For Honesty, which sees some wonderful lyrics go to waste, and the non-sensical I Spy), and so, it saddens me to say I have to give this album below 5 stars for the first time on this site. However, this is for the most part a very enjoyable record that is brimming with great melodies, beautiful harmonies, and some very impressive drumming, all done by hand. If you're looking for a breath of fresh air in rock music, look no further than Guster.
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