Guster musters to 'Keep It Together'

Boston-based rockers Guster have returned following a four-year hiatus with the intermittently entertaining and ultimately unchallenging Keep It Together.\nThe trio, best known for its simplistic acoustic guitar and bongo-driven sound, has diversified by integrating pianos, banjos and the occasional flirtation with all instruments electric into the mix. This broader sonic palette makes Keep It Together a moderately more interesting listen than its predecessors, and yet, Guster seems unable to lift itself into the higher echelons of the pop pantheon. \nThe collective shines when performing bittersweet songs named after chicks i.e. "Diane" and "Ramona," or guiltily enjoyable dribble like "Come Downstairs and Say Hello," and that's about it. Lead-off single, "Amsterdam," is moderately if not moronically catchy, and sounds as though it was cribbed from Third Eye Blind's latest record (no, this is not a compliment). A guest appearance by the infinitely talented Ben Kweller on the album's closer, "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today," shows these dudes as the minor hacks they most assuredly are. The track left me wanting to hear Kweller's new album as opposed to a bonus track by these Beantown boobs. With Roger Moutenot (Yo La Tengo) producing, one would understandably expect more from Keep It Together. As is, it'll certainly get heavy rotation come September when the frat rats return.