they're coming to my school soon. figured i'd give their tunes a listen. maybe i'd be interested. my first thought was "american travis" (i know this is an unfair appraisal cos they've been around longer than travis but i needed to find a reference point. my musical indoctrination is a little different than the yanks i live around). they're likable. very much so but even travis serve up some darkness every once in a while. they do have an ear for a good melody though and their singer has some nice pipes on him. i still cant get over the "over-niceness" of their songs though. anyone else given these guys a listen?

For some reason, they're really popular with the hippie/stoner crowd. I've never gotten them. I just think they're...well...dull.

I remember them as sort of like more recent Weezer, but even less talented.

I would never in my life have compared them to Weezer, what with their almost complete lack of electric guitar for much of their career. And the bongos (or is it congas?).

They're popular with the hippie/stoner crowd because their concerts can get a little jammy, like DMB, Phish, moe, Dispatch, etc.

I like their recorded material a bit. The melodies and (especially) harmonies are right up my ally. They have some darker songs, like "I Spy," but not many, I suppose. Anyway, I don't have any strong feelings about them.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ¡KevinHess!,

I'm a fan of their recordings, but especially their concerts. I've seen them a few times over the last few years. Their recordings are melodic, perfectly enjoyable acoustic pop/rock, but I can see how one would find them boring. In their concerts, they do some cool stuff to vary it up, including some electronic fluorishes and unexpected vocal harmonies. In my mind, a notch up from DMB, Phish, moe, etc.

Keep it Together is a killer album. Overly nice doesn't affect me... I much rather it to macho posturing.

Not sure how I missed this. Yeah, they're a bit overly nice, but they've got good harmonies. It's nice pop-rock, and I enjoy it when I'm in the mood for it.

Their last one, Ganging Up On the Sun, was a dud, but I've liked everything else they've done, particularly Lost and Gone Forever. That one is a flat-out masterpiece and one of my favorite 90's records. I hope they come back with a strong effort on their next one. If they don't, I'm ready to write them off. They took 3 years to make GUOTS and there was only one good song. That doesn't bode well for the future. I won't give up on them yet though.

A friend of mine in school used to really like them. I would always just tell him:

Guster Suckster

He thought that was very annoying, and it certainly was.

I think that all of their albums are pretty solid, but I will agree with Lost and Gone Forever being their best one. They do put on a really good concert though, and have some really passionate fans.

guster doesn't use dissonance or noisy sounds... so they are overly nice for it? it sounds like amazingly well crafted music to me.