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**Guster - Ganging Up On The Sun**
★★★½

In the summer of 2006, as indie rock was morphing into something shinier and more palatable for the masses, three guys from Boston delivered what might be their most ambitious statement yet. "Ganging Up On The Sun," Guster's fifth studio album, found Ryan Miller, Adam Gardner, and Brian Rosenworcel trading in some of their acoustic intimacy for a fuller, more produced sound that somehow managed to retain the band's essential DNA while reaching for something grander.

The road to "Ganging Up" began in the wake of 2003's "Keep It Together," an album that had pushed the trio further into mainstream consciousness without sacrificing their cult following. But success brought its own pressures. After years of Miller and Gardner's intertwining acoustic guitars and Rosenworcel's distinctive hand percussion creating their signature sound, the band felt ready to explode their sonic palette. They enlisted producer Joe Chiccarelli, whose resume included work with The Strokes and Beck, signaling their intent to craft something more expansive than their previous efforts.

The result is an album that feels like Guster with the volume turned up and the colors saturated. While their earlier work often felt like intimate conversations in coffee shops, "Ganging Up On The Sun" sounds like it was designed for summer festivals and car stereos. The production is lush without being overwhelming, adding layers of keyboards, strings, and yes, even some actual drums alongside Rosenworcel's trademark bongos and hand percussion.

Opening track "Lightning Rod" immediately establishes this new sonic territory with its driving rhythm and soaring chorus, while Miller's vocals carry a newfound confidence. It's followed by the album's crown jewel, "Satellite," a perfect encapsulation of everything that makes Guster special. The song builds from a gentle acoustic foundation into an anthemic celebration, with harmonies that seem to lift off the ground. It's the kind of track that converts casual listeners into devotees, combining accessibility with genuine emotional depth.

"Manifest Destiny" showcases the band's political consciousness without heavy-handedness, wrapping social commentary in their trademark melodic sensibility. Meanwhile, "The Captain" demonstrates their ability to craft intimate moments even within this expanded sound, Miller's voice carrying a vulnerability that cuts through the fuller arrangements. The title track itself is perhaps the album's most adventurous moment, with its layered vocals and orchestral flourishes creating something that feels both epic and personal.

Genre-wise, Guster has always been difficult to pin down, and "Ganging Up On The Sun" only complicates matters further. There's folk rock in the acoustic foundations, alternative rock in the attitude, and even touches of baroque pop in the arrangements. It's indie rock, but indie rock with ambitions beyond the typical lo-fi aesthetic that dominated the mid-2000s scene. The band created something that could sit comfortably next to Death Cab for Cutie or The Shins while maintaining its own distinct identity.

The album's production deserves particular praise for how it handles Rosenworcel's percussion. Rather than drowning out his unique approach with conventional drums, Chiccarelli found ways to augment and complement the hand percussion, creating rhythmic landscapes that feel both organic and powerful. It's a testament to the band's vision that they managed to grow their sound without abandoning what made them special in the first place.

Nearly two decades later, "Ganging Up On The Sun" stands as a high-water mark in Guster's catalog. While they've continued to evolve and experiment in subsequent releases, this album captured them at a perfect moment – experienced enough to know their strengths, ambitious enough to push boundaries, and still hungry enough to prove themselves on a larger stage. The album didn't make them superstars, but it solidified their position as one of indie rock's most reliable and distinctive voices.

For longtime fans, it represents the moment Guster proved they could expand their sound without losing their soul. For newcomers, it remains the perfect entry point into a band that has spent over two decades crafting intelligent, emotionally resonant music that refuses to fit neatly into any single category. "Ganging Up On The Sun" is the sound of a band coming into full bloom, creating music that feels both timeless and distinctly of its moment.