*** Guster

GOLDFLY

(Hybrid/Sire)

What's left to say about Somerville's own Guster at this point? The acoustic power trio have become one of the East Coast's most popular live club acts, winning fans with their furious strumming and Indigo Guys vocal harmonies. Their second CD, Goldfly, had already sold tens of thousands of copies as an indie release on AWARE before being remastered for this major-label version. The result is highly polished, complete with a few mournful but subtle string arrangements and reinforced bass-playing augmenting the acoustic guitars of Adam Gardner and Ryan Miller and Brian Rosenworcel's congas. The vocals from Gardner and Miller are especially clear, and the "I'm not special -- no, really!" tone of the lyrics is emblematic of the earnest resignation prized by masculine post-grunge guitar rockers these days. Still, the band's pop songcraft is impeccable and catchy, and there's one truly creepy gem in "Airport Song." More important, Guster's grand, expansive soundscape (like that of Morphine, another heroic Hub trio with an unorthodox sonic palette, in its unexpected vastness and fullness) remains gloriously intact.

-- Gary Susman