Reprise Records 
Guster has come a long way since the time they played Durham’s “Spring Fling” on Main Street in the mid 1990s.

They were crammed up on a tiny, rickety stage playing for maybe 150 people, and percussionist Brian Rosenworcel had two tiny “bongos” rigged onto a cymbal stand along with a tiny crash cymbal. Guitarists/singers Ryan Miller and Adam Gardner bopped along with their beat-up acoustic guitars, cracking jokes with the audience.

Since signing with Sire/Reprise Records in 1998, it’s been all tour buses, Conan O’Brien and a sling of excellent and accessible albums. “Ganging Up on the Sun” is their fourth and latest major label CD (including a live album from 2004). Guster’s impeccable pop sense is intact, but the material on “Sun” runs a little darker than previous releases. Right out of the chute, “Lightning Rod” drops some heavy lyrics: “Standing on a building I am a lightning rod / and all these clouds are so familiar / descending from the mountaintops / the gods are threatening / but I will return an honest soldier.”

It’s not exactly the kind of material they were playing when they were hawking their independent record “Parachutes,” complete with a teddy bear on the cover. The new, darker lyrical tilt suits the band well, as they had a tendency to slip in a slightly saccharine rut from time to time. “Manifest Destiny” starts with a jumpy and happy piano part, and when the band kicks in, it’s hard not to feel good and move to the music, even as the guys sing “Everybody, the sky is falling down / friends and lovers the world is coming down” in lovely Beatle-esque harmony.

I’m hoping their traditionally college-age party crowd comes along for the ride, because there’s some great songwriting here. The catchy single “One Man Wrecking Machine” delivers the hooks and sings of the desire to relive adolescent dreams, “C’Mon” also seems to express longing for more innocent times and has a driving and almost Jackson Browne kind of feel to it.

Guster has a knack for arrangement. Banjo, vibes, chimey guitars, organs, harmonies—they all sit perfectly where they should. Not a note is wasted. It sure makes for an easy listen, even if the hummable music belies the melancholic lyrics. What’s for certain is that these guys aren’t a one-trick pony. “Ganging Up on the Sun” showcases the kind of musical growth that a band must have in order to stay relevant. Expect more good stuff from Guster.