trying cd reviews again
parachute. this should be an interesting one because i dont remember it all that well, despite being one of the newer ones i got. there are a few that stand out, but its not as good as other stuff from guster. well, best place to start is the beginning.
1. fall in two. a very guster song. im guessing its about self evaluation or something like that. either way, awesome bongos like i have grown to expect from guster. i like the 2 voices working together about 1:45 into the song. and one of the catchier phrases of the song being "closing doors and locking locks, he looked inside himself" though it does get a bit tiresome toward the end when theyre just woah woah ing. not the best, but not too bad. B
2. mona lisa. nice guitar strum to begin, a bit of base and vocals. the voice seems whinier in the beginning of this song. its kinda irritating. the bongos are more in the background, which disappoints. well, a line everyone can relate to. "when do we begin." vocals just dont get better. it ends on a good note, but not much else to say, typical guster song, so its better than a lot of the junk out there these days. C+
3. love for me. i like the energetic guitar strum at the beginning. and the feel of the pick at the beginning. it reminds me of another song by them. the end of the airport song, which i absolutely love. the vocals arnt whining, woo hoo. once again, bongos in the back ground, so sad. the chorus seems to have energy as well, which is nice to see from guster. probably one of the better ones of the cd. though it still has some of the whining notes that carry on. i guess its one of the things that just irritates me about guster, but its not as prominent in this song as the last one. and it seemed to go by faster than the last 2. over all better than fall in two, but still not the best of guster. B+
4. window. good strum, followed by... is that a fiddle? interesting. quiet bongos still. despite the whining it is, i enjoyed the beginning of the vocals, and a catchy line of "you say go slow" carrys some weight. though im disappointed in how theyre using the fiddle. its just kinda in and out, not much energy put into it. there are a few more whining long notes. BONGO SOLO GO. eh, i think it was supposed to be more about the fiddle, but i dont care. i like how the vocals end with "and i carry you" the rest is just the fiddle bongos and guitar. its ok, not quite as good as fall into, but still better than mona lisa. B-
5. eden. different guitar stum. and a different lead singer. sounds promising. it sounds like an rem song. the voices harmonize well. the strength of this song is definitely the vocals, and how they are working together. especially at the bridge. the energy is upped. and the guitar even gets louder. "but the taste in my mouth still remains" being the phrase that sticks out in this one. it seems to be fading out rather than the normal stop. seems to fit with the different nature of this song. overall, different is good. B+
6. scars and stitches. this is one i remember from the concert recordings i have. very energetic strum at the beginning. but some of its sapped away by the time the singing comes in. its up and down with that it seems. more prominent bongos. and it seems to smooth out over the chorus. and the phrase i believe sticks out in this one is "i dont mind falling down and scraping up my knees." wow. actual drums add a ton of energy. but i really love the contrast between the chorus and verse. the verse is very on edge, while the chorus is very smooth, comforting. and ends very suddenly, and smoothing transitions into the prize. i love it when energy is put into music, especally when gotten right. guster does that here, but better later, but for this one its the best so far.A-
7. the prize. it starts with buzzing. and a bongo intro. the guitar pick is very catchy. the drum and guitar sets the rhythm very well. and again, contrast between verse and chorus. " cry of me, cry for him" the voices going on their seperate melodies and coming back to the end in the middle of the song was very well done, it sounded really amazing. a bit of whining long notes, but its to be expected by now. good wind down. B+
8. dissolve. another song i remember from the concert recordings i have. the beginning once again reminds me of an rem song. electrolite. its the same instrument, whatever it is. the wind up on the guitar is a good intro. i rather like the vocals for this song. and the bongos play a more prominent role. ew. that was a more of a whining note. again. the strong contrast between the verse and chorus. "try and understand him, that means nothing" is a phrase that sticks out to me i think. and "its a mental suicide" the chorus is set up to create tension, and then the bridge comes and lets a bunch of energy out. its very well placed in the song. oh god, thats a violin. eh, it stays in the background, so i dont mind. the energy expelled at the end of the song is nice. and another fade out. theres a reason i remembered the concert recording of this. its better live, but definately up to par with the prize and love for me. B+
9. cocoon. opens with a zipper? hmm, odd. and the sudden throwing of all the instruments leaves me behind. vocals average. strum normal. kinda a typical guster song. though it has vocal harmony and that. and a creative use of zipper. it was actually used in the song. and a very nice acoustic guitar solo. but outside of those, its kind of a typical guster song. id give it a B-, but just for the zipper, i need to bump it up to a B
10. happy frappy. not gonna lie, heavily prejudiced towards this song. the energetic guitar strum. the catchy melody. the memorable lyrics. the guitar going in the back ground, the amazing chorus, even if it is like the verses. i love the little guitar licks inbetween the lines on the second verse. and of course the line i can relate to all too well "i pray i float the way i think i want, i pray i float at all" dies down a bit, but then throws the energy back to where it was. i just cant say enough about this song. its a contender to be my theme song. and a nice clean ending. i think ill listen to it again before heading to parachute. A+
11. parachute. quiet strum, even by guster standards. somewhat boring actually. very melodic. a little more energy for the next part of the song, but im not even sure if its the chorus. hey, there are the bongos. just quieter than the guitars even. its a lot more about the singing than the instruments, but im not too crazy about the vocals. though i do like this guitar effect they are using here. its an high and low strum. and the vocals going over it is finally something worthwhile "parachute over me" of course they use more energy towards the end of the song, but thats undone by the bloody violin. overall, not that good. but being guster, its still better than a lot of junk. C.
while it has its ups and downs. i think that the mix of good songs and skippable songs is good, though i wish the best song was closer to the beginning. id say the rough average of the songs is B. even if it isnt, i dont care. im giving it a B. i think i like the other guster cds better, but thats for another day. enjoy
1. fall in two. a very guster song. im guessing its about self evaluation or something like that. either way, awesome bongos like i have grown to expect from guster. i like the 2 voices working together about 1:45 into the song. and one of the catchier phrases of the song being "closing doors and locking locks, he looked inside himself" though it does get a bit tiresome toward the end when theyre just woah woah ing. not the best, but not too bad. B
2. mona lisa. nice guitar strum to begin, a bit of base and vocals. the voice seems whinier in the beginning of this song. its kinda irritating. the bongos are more in the background, which disappoints. well, a line everyone can relate to. "when do we begin." vocals just dont get better. it ends on a good note, but not much else to say, typical guster song, so its better than a lot of the junk out there these days. C+
3. love for me. i like the energetic guitar strum at the beginning. and the feel of the pick at the beginning. it reminds me of another song by them. the end of the airport song, which i absolutely love. the vocals arnt whining, woo hoo. once again, bongos in the back ground, so sad. the chorus seems to have energy as well, which is nice to see from guster. probably one of the better ones of the cd. though it still has some of the whining notes that carry on. i guess its one of the things that just irritates me about guster, but its not as prominent in this song as the last one. and it seemed to go by faster than the last 2. over all better than fall in two, but still not the best of guster. B+
4. window. good strum, followed by... is that a fiddle? interesting. quiet bongos still. despite the whining it is, i enjoyed the beginning of the vocals, and a catchy line of "you say go slow" carrys some weight. though im disappointed in how theyre using the fiddle. its just kinda in and out, not much energy put into it. there are a few more whining long notes. BONGO SOLO GO. eh, i think it was supposed to be more about the fiddle, but i dont care. i like how the vocals end with "and i carry you" the rest is just the fiddle bongos and guitar. its ok, not quite as good as fall into, but still better than mona lisa. B-
5. eden. different guitar stum. and a different lead singer. sounds promising. it sounds like an rem song. the voices harmonize well. the strength of this song is definitely the vocals, and how they are working together. especially at the bridge. the energy is upped. and the guitar even gets louder. "but the taste in my mouth still remains" being the phrase that sticks out in this one. it seems to be fading out rather than the normal stop. seems to fit with the different nature of this song. overall, different is good. B+
6. scars and stitches. this is one i remember from the concert recordings i have. very energetic strum at the beginning. but some of its sapped away by the time the singing comes in. its up and down with that it seems. more prominent bongos. and it seems to smooth out over the chorus. and the phrase i believe sticks out in this one is "i dont mind falling down and scraping up my knees." wow. actual drums add a ton of energy. but i really love the contrast between the chorus and verse. the verse is very on edge, while the chorus is very smooth, comforting. and ends very suddenly, and smoothing transitions into the prize. i love it when energy is put into music, especally when gotten right. guster does that here, but better later, but for this one its the best so far.A-
7. the prize. it starts with buzzing. and a bongo intro. the guitar pick is very catchy. the drum and guitar sets the rhythm very well. and again, contrast between verse and chorus. " cry of me, cry for him" the voices going on their seperate melodies and coming back to the end in the middle of the song was very well done, it sounded really amazing. a bit of whining long notes, but its to be expected by now. good wind down. B+
8. dissolve. another song i remember from the concert recordings i have. the beginning once again reminds me of an rem song. electrolite. its the same instrument, whatever it is. the wind up on the guitar is a good intro. i rather like the vocals for this song. and the bongos play a more prominent role. ew. that was a more of a whining note. again. the strong contrast between the verse and chorus. "try and understand him, that means nothing" is a phrase that sticks out to me i think. and "its a mental suicide" the chorus is set up to create tension, and then the bridge comes and lets a bunch of energy out. its very well placed in the song. oh god, thats a violin. eh, it stays in the background, so i dont mind. the energy expelled at the end of the song is nice. and another fade out. theres a reason i remembered the concert recording of this. its better live, but definately up to par with the prize and love for me. B+
9. cocoon. opens with a zipper? hmm, odd. and the sudden throwing of all the instruments leaves me behind. vocals average. strum normal. kinda a typical guster song. though it has vocal harmony and that. and a creative use of zipper. it was actually used in the song. and a very nice acoustic guitar solo. but outside of those, its kind of a typical guster song. id give it a B-, but just for the zipper, i need to bump it up to a B
10. happy frappy. not gonna lie, heavily prejudiced towards this song. the energetic guitar strum. the catchy melody. the memorable lyrics. the guitar going in the back ground, the amazing chorus, even if it is like the verses. i love the little guitar licks inbetween the lines on the second verse. and of course the line i can relate to all too well "i pray i float the way i think i want, i pray i float at all" dies down a bit, but then throws the energy back to where it was. i just cant say enough about this song. its a contender to be my theme song. and a nice clean ending. i think ill listen to it again before heading to parachute. A+
11. parachute. quiet strum, even by guster standards. somewhat boring actually. very melodic. a little more energy for the next part of the song, but im not even sure if its the chorus. hey, there are the bongos. just quieter than the guitars even. its a lot more about the singing than the instruments, but im not too crazy about the vocals. though i do like this guitar effect they are using here. its an high and low strum. and the vocals going over it is finally something worthwhile "parachute over me" of course they use more energy towards the end of the song, but thats undone by the bloody violin. overall, not that good. but being guster, its still better than a lot of junk. C.
while it has its ups and downs. i think that the mix of good songs and skippable songs is good, though i wish the best song was closer to the beginning. id say the rough average of the songs is B. even if it isnt, i dont care. im giving it a B. i think i like the other guster cds better, but thats for another day. enjoy