Guster -- Ganging Up On the Sun

Guster's Pop classicism is the consistent thread running through the trio's various structural and stylistic configurations, from two acoustic guitars and a bongo to a more "traditional" band array. With their last album, 2003's Keep It Together, the band began moving toward a more expansive sonic palette with the addition of a provisional player, keyboardist Joe Pisapia. On Guster's fifth studio album, Ganging Up On the Sun, Pisapia becomes a full-fledged member and the band's sound and lyrical direction are broadened even further. While the band has long been known for marrying engaging melodies to cynically dyspeptic lyrics, Ganging Up On the Sun finds Guster making their most potent and pointed political observations to date, particularly on the melancholy anti-war ballad "Lightning Rod" and the sprightly, Harry-Nilsson-poison-Pop-pill vibe of "Manifest Destiny." Musically, Guster touches on a number of their disparate influences, from the Brian Wilson-fronts-Pink Floyd Poptopia of "Ruby Falls" to the Fountains of Wayne splendor of "One Man Wrecking Machine" to the fuzz-tinged Pop/Punk chaos of "The Beginning of the End." Guster could have effortlessly churned out more of their partly sunny Folk Pop to an adoring Internet-built audience, so it's to their credit that they've raised their own bar so convincingly. (BB) Grade: B+

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