A few years back I went on a date to a Guster concert. For some reason the word "Guster" made me think it would be a much harder rock band. Maybe I was confusing it for Seether? Disturbed? Maybe just the hard G sound? I dunno. The concert, then, ended up being a bit of a surprise, but not a bad one. Couple of the songs were recognizable from the radio and college party playlists. I'd end up hearing "Happier," "Two Points for Honesty," and "Fa Fa" soon again.
The odd thing is the same experience happened again this week opening up Lost and Gone Forever. I immediately remembered what Guster wasn't and that I had made this mistake once before. I think the challenge is that even though it's clear what Guster is not, I'm not quite sure what it is? It's not emo, but they do talk bluntly about emotions a lot ("I was meaning to tell you / I've been so damn sad"; "It must make you sad to know that nobody cares at all"; "If this will make you happier / It got you this far / Do what you have to"). I guess it's just alt-enough rock without too much lean in any one direction. In our zeitgeist, they're kind of one half of Fastball's schtick with some fun vocal and/or instrumental flourishes ("Fa Fa," "All the Way Up to Heaven") added on top for style. Playing with bongos and maracas and triangles and stuff gives them a bit more dimension than your typical kit, especially for '99.
Again, none of this is a bad surprise. The whole album is generally pretty pleasant over 45 minutes. It's not my favorite for close repeated listening, where the essence turns more from charming to blasé. The pictures do better than the album. Still, whatever Guster is trying to do, it's nice to have bands that you can accidentally stumble into a concert for and have a delightful time.
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