CD Reviews

Guster

Satellite EP | Reprise

By JONATHAN STERN | April 17, 2007

3.0 Stars

In the wake of last year’s solid full-length, Ganging Up on the Sun, Guster keep the good times rolling with an eight-song EP. This intermezzo before another summer of eco-conscious touring comprises live covers, outtakes from the 2006 Nashville sessions for Ganging Up, and a William Orbit–esque dance remix of “Satellite” produced by Cut Chemist collaborators the Astronauts. But Satellite is more than just an odds-and-sods collection (or, as drummer Brian Rosenworcel demonstrates with his cover of “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” intentionally bad karaoke). On a live-at-KCRW performance, Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller showcase their Lennon & McCartney harmonies on a banjo-driven “Two of Us.” And the three outtakes are far from studio gristle. Ryan Miller sings about the “king who hides behind the pawns” on the political march “G Major.” “Timothy Leary” isn’t a sonic homage to psychedelia but a big, urgent rocker in the same vein as Keep It Together’s “Homecoming King.” There’s even a bit of the old-time, strum-and-sentiment Guster on “Rise & Shine.” The random assortment doesn’t offer any clues to what Guster’s next offering might but, but it’s a small reminder that in the past few years this band have gone from treading the waters of college radio to being bona fide adult-alternative songsmiths.

Guster | Opera House, 539 Washington St, Boston | April 20-21 | 617.931.2000