REVIEW: Guster’s ‘Easy Wonderful’ a bit too easy
I was Facebook-stalking someone the other day when my attention was caught by one of the annoying little advertisements on the right side of the screen. It said something along the lines of “If you like the Barenaked Ladies, you’ll like Guster!”
I know that it was more than a simple coincidence that this ad found its way to my computer screen. Someone has somehow figured out what bands I like, and has sent me personalized marketing according to that. Even though I know this, the ad still worked, at least partially. I immediately thought “Ooh, they’re right, I do like the Barenaked Ladies.”
What the ad did wrong was underestimate my laziness – I didn’t have the will to even click the “Like” button. But, the band’s name stuck in my head, and when I saw that they had a new CD out, I decided to review it. In the end, I guess the ad worked.
The new album, “Easy Wonderful,” was interesting. Expecting a Barenaked Ladies sound-alike band, I was surprised by what I found. The Barenaked Ladies tend to be incredibly witty with their lyrics, to the point of sometimes being cliche and corny. I heard no such cleverness in “Easy Wonderful.” The lyrics were pretty flat and insensible – often a good quality in a rock song – and can get a bit boring after 15 tracks of not knowing what the song is about.
Once I decided to accept they aren’t that similar to my beloved Barenaked Ladies, I was able to notice more positive qualities, however. They have a nice acoustic sound, accentuated by simple drums and vocal harmonies. It’s not something that sets them apart, however. You can hear a simple sound from many folk-rock bands.
A few songs were interesting. One, “Stay With Me Jesus,” relates several stories of people being saved from death by Jesus. I was pleased to see a mainstream band showing beliefs other than the belief that life sucks, until I heard that the song was meant to be sarcastic. I’m not sure if this is true, I never would have noticed if someone hadn’t told me. However, I must admit that listening to the song after hearing that was a bit stranger.
The song “Jesus and Mary” was a bit odd, especially with the lines “Jesus and Mary and Romeo and Juliet in a movie on TV plays seven days a week.” I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but it’s just plain weird to seemingly compare Jesus and Mary to two young and impulsive lovers.
Not all the songs have religious references. “Bad Bad World” talks about how there really is good in this world, and “This Is How if Feels to Have a Broken Heart” gives a surprisingly powerful description of lost love. “Do What You Want” tells the listener to do whatever they want because “…it doesn’t matter at all, no one’s going to care if we disappear.”
All in all, the album was pretty bland. The musical side of it wasn’t that exciting, except for an awesome banjo solo in “Hercules,” a nice, upbeat song. In fact, all of their songs were nice and upbeat, no matter the subject material. They sounded happy whether they were singing about lost love or world peace.
The enigmatic and uninteresting lyrics didn’t help their case. It seems to me that if you write an album in which many of the songs sound the same, you should pair them with some clever lyrics. I don’t want to listen to a bunch of lines that mention a lot of things but don’t really say anything.
Thanks for the advice, Facebook, but I think I’ll stick with the Barenaked Ladies.
– colin.rex.mitchell@aggiemail.usu.edu