Album Reviews

Album Review: Guster - Easy Wonderful

By Jaclyn Evert, Staff Writer jaclyn@livemusicguide.com Guster will release their sixth studio album, Easy Wonderful, on October 6, and (maybe not entirely surprisingly), this album is a tribute to love, happiness, and....Jesus. With such sappy themes, it’s hard to imagine that the music could be any good, but despite some of the waify content, it’s worth a listen. The songs, in general, have a very upbeat, airy vibe, and probably the best example of this is “Do You Love Me.” The song has a nice pop melody, with upbeat, layered vocals; it's a like a modern take on the Beach Boys, without the surf-rock aesthetic. A happy-go-lucky tribute to love, the tune is obviously inspired by the love-drenched songs of the 1960s with such simple lyrics as “Do you feel it, do you feel it now? Do you want it, do you want it now?....Do you loooove me?” If you can get past the overwhelming cutesyness, it’s a light, poppy listen.  “Stay with me Jesus” is a folkier tune, with acoustic strumming and narrative lyrical style storytelling. The song is light, airy, and sweet as pie, almost sickenly so. Though the lyrics lack substance, and are frankly kind of embarrassing (“Stay with me Jesus, yes I’ll testify, you flew down from heaven to keep me alive...”), it makes you feel as if you are in a “feel good” movie, and the song is part of the soundtrack. In fact, the whole album feels like a movie soundtrack, as the songs blend together seamlessly and there is an overriding theme of love, understanding and salvation. If you can get past the lovey-dovey, hyper positive lyrics, then you will definitely be pleasantly surprised by the feel good vibes on the album. Some may argue that that’s what makes this album so refreshing: its lack of negativity and idealistic attitude towards life.

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