Does this make me a bad person? Maybe
Does this make me a terrible blogger? Definitely
The good news is that I am back. I mean with a vengeance!
How awkward would that have been if THAT was all I posted? The good news is that it isn't. A lot has happened in the past few months. I got engaged, I have learned to play a few songs on the guitar, and Guster released a new record.
I am aware of the fact that I just used created a terrible segway, but I am entitled too. This is MY blog after all. Not yours so suck it.
Guster did release a new record though, and I am going to talk a little bit about it. First of all, I am sad to say that this will be the last Guster album featuring Joe Pisapia. I know a lot of die hard Guster fans that literally cheered because of this. I am not one of those fans. Want to know why?
Well I will tell you why anyway, I think he helped the band transition nicely from a pop jam band ensemble to a legitimate indie pop band. This means that we lost the hand only percussion, but were rewarded with Harmonium, Pipe Organs, Banjo, and a Bass guitar. At least one of these was missing from a standard rock lineup. I will let you be the judge of which instrument was missing.
With Joe gone the remaining members of Guster are touring with another multi instrumentalist named Luke. I do not know Luke, but he can at least handle Joe's parts on the tour. Hopefully I will get to know Luke in the coming months and he will be a valuable asset.
The musicianship on this record shows a small growth from the 2006 release Ganging Up On the Sun. This is to be expected from a maturing band, and their records have always shown a growth sonically.
Lyrically it is business as usual. Guster has never really been known for their lyrics. Most bands are not known for their lyrics. This is why you can hear all sorts of terrible things in music. Now, none of this really matters.
Where the music shines is really the arrangements. I don't think I half expected to hear any sha na na's on a Guster album, but Easy Wonderful is full of them. Baroque instrumentals have replaced the older jam songs found on Goldfly and Parachutes. Do lush instrumentals show maturity or musical depth? I suppose not. Bands that have been around half as long as Guster are doing this. However, this is a departure for Ryan, Brian, and Adam. Brian had completely replaced his original hand drumkit, for a real drumkit. It's amazing what a difference this can make.
Now do I recommend this album to die hard Guster fans? Yes, although you may hate it if you didn't like their last two records. I still think we haven't seen the best record they can make, but we are getting closer.
