Evermotion is the most recent (to date) album from the band Guster. Now, I have liked Guster for a while, since I heard their song “Satellite,” but this is the first album of the band I have owned, albeit digitally, all because I bought a ticket and went to one of their fantastic concerts [1]. Given that I lack an understanding of the albums of the band as a whole, although I would like to rectify that issue, I cannot review this album in the general context of their work. Nevertheless, it is an album that is able to stand on its own virtues, and it was certainly aided by being a part of an excellent live show. As usual, what follows is the track-by-track review:

Long Night – This album opener is beautiful, in a haunting sort of way [2]. It is a droning song that has the feel of a dark night in a cold winter, reflecting on what has been seen and experienced that cannot be unseen. It is a beautiful song, somewhat slow, but full of deep longing, reflecting on past disillusionment and a belief that one is now in the daylight.

Endlessly – This is a driving mid-tempo song that definitely has the feel of the album title, reflecting on the drive to get things right, no matter how long it takes. It is a sweet song with the feel of the best of 80’s synth pop, a style of music I happen to greatly like, with modern production values and a more organic feeling, something like “Perfect Symmetry” era Keane with its own unique touches.

Doin’ It By Myself – This song has a beautiful calypso feel to it, and the steel drums add a lot of nice touches that made it a pleasant standout in their live show. This song has a defiant tone appropriate for a band making its first independent release after being released from their major label contract, and it (like the album opener) is insisting on being alive and still vital. With its harmonies and instrumentation, it lives up to its aims, rising above the threat of being a lounge music cover.

Lazy Love – With its slide guitar parts, and its a capella introduction, this particular song is a laid back song that lives up to its title. Sometimes the most amazing kind of love, not that I know as much about love as I would like, is the sort of love that allows us to relax and enjoy life and not feel immensely pressured, and if the songwriter/narrator of this particular song has found such a relationship, it is to be treasured and appreciated.

Simple Machine – This upbeat and snappy song was the first (and so far only) single from this album. It features punchy percussion, a realization that life has made us more complicated than we were, sweet synth parts, and an understanding that we will never get back to the same sense of home we may have had when we were younger. It is easy to sing along to, but also with a profound meaning about what we lose and what we gain from the experience of our lives. It is easily the standout track of this album.

Expectation – This song, a fairly sweet and droning ballad, seems to reflect on expectations of the afterlife, reflecting on the thoughts and beliefs that the songwriter purports to have about the kingdom of heaven. It has a feel of a farewell, what it means to walk towards the light, given that we tend to live our lives walking in darkness.

Gangway – In a direct contrast to the previous song, this tune has a feel of a gentle expression of the desire to live life courageously, to do the most we can with the limited time we have. I’m not sure why the song has the title it does, but its message is one of seeking love and seeking to live without fear as much as possible.

Kid Dreams – This song, which was a sweet and nostalgic encore moment in their live show, is definitely the sort of song that looks back to those awkward and uncomfortable days of high school, with the old and familiar longings to belong and to be in a glorious loving relationship. In a way, this song seems to reflect the fact that our kid dreams tend to stay with us, because we long for what is both seemingly straightforward to conceive and also incredibly complicated to achieve.

Never Coming Down – This is laid-back sort of song of the kind that would not be too out of place on a Jimmy Buffet song, albeit with a great deal more musicianship, filled with quirky instrumentation and the rather simple expression about the enjoyment of dancing and enjoying the evening and feeling like the good times will never end, enjoying an immensely laid back and sociable sort of experience that appears to result from the feeling of being more relaxed and less under pressure than before.

It Is Just What It Is – This laid back song seems to suggest a desire to accept the way the world is and to not bend oneself out of shape protesting against the state of the world. It seems to advocate an almost passive and stoic and fatalistic acceptance of fate, so that we live lives with as little trouble as possible. Towards the end of the song there is a slightly chaotic closing that reminds one of Fastball’s “Funny How It Fades Away,” one that reminds the listener that the world is an immensely troubled and chaotic place.

Farewell – This very atmospheric and sparse closing song is aptly titled, a sort of elegy to someone who struggled unsuccessfully against the force of gravity. It has some spoken word components and generally reflects the album as a whole and its concerns with departure, with freedom from pressure, with a lazy or fatalistic acceptance of fate, and with a desire for freedom and to seek the light.

The general slow tempo and laid back nature of this particular album, with some rare exceptions (like “Simple Machine”) makes it easy to forget that this album is wrestling with some serious issues, including the issue of the extent to which we should act against present reality or merely accept it and seek what kind of lazy and potentially escapist moments of pleasure and enjoyment while avoiding the hustle and bustle of life. For the most part, this album ironically rejects the desire to be in evermotion against reality, rather counseling the listener to go with the flow. Notably, though, the best moments of this album are those that act counter to that approach. That said, this is a very pleasant album to relax to on a lazy afternoon and filled with beautiful harmonies, and those are not insignificant virtues.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/concert-review-guster-kishi-bashi-03312015-portland-or/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/04/04/it-was-a-long-night-for-everyone/