Guster: Goldfly (2/26/2024)

Guster: Goldfly [Sire/Hybrid, 1998] Since Ryan Miller did not seem to mind my pleas for that flipping album, which, five and a half weeks pre-release, still does not have a lead single, I'm gracing the band with another mediocre review. 

What's always been interesting to me about Guster is the connection they've maintained with their fans, especially in the 1990s. If you look on the back of Goldfly's CD booklet, you'll see their P.O. Box, phone number, and email, along with a note on how to obtain various kinds of Guster merch (which, according the note, includes CD's, shirts, posters, stickers, pencils, erasers, lunchboxes, and action figures). This makes Goldfly, in essence, a fan's album, not that the sound is too anti-commercial to drive away the casual listener, but that, at that point, none of the publicity was there, and this was really only useful for the people who were there first, the locals, the regulars at the first Boston shows. However, this is not always a good thing in the case of Goldfly, which has its moments occasionally on "Bury Me," "Great Escape," and "Grin." But, unlike Parachute, there's a good amount of filler, and is, in essence, a more cynical, poorly-produced version of that album. Only "Perfect" seems to get away with the cynicism, as it's actually entertaining and slightly anarchic. However, this rush is dulled by the album's uncreative production and occasionally lazy lyricism. This is best represented on "Airport Song" and "Rocketship," the musical mood swings which dominate the album's overall feel. They're able to have some fun on the hidden track, "Melanie," in which Ryan Miller meows repeatedly over some reverbed acoustic guitars and tabla. While it is completely up to you, my friend, to decide whether this one would've been better off on The Pasty Tapes, it, along with the aforementioned energetic opener "Great Escape" and the gleefully dark cautionary tale "Grin" are brief moments of gratification on an often cynical album. And if you don't like it, and you're not a hardcore fan, by all means, do not buy it. A cool element of a collection, but, as it frequently lacks the humor and personality that made Parachute great, not much else. [5.9/10]

NOTE: Around the time when I published this, Guster announced the aforementioned lead single, "Keep Going," which is out February 28. I'd like to apologize to Ryan or anyone else offended by the fairly harmless remarks here.