"Parachute" by Guster from the album Parachute. 1995.
You probably won't be surprised to hear that the album cover drew me in. Back then, I'd heard a few Guster songs. In fact, the unlikely source of Wedding Crashers cued me into the band with "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today."
Parachute surprisingly gets the title of "weakest effort" by the band itself (according to an uncited wikipedia article, at least! Best I could find was "something [they] can't recall too well"). I say surprising because some of my favorite Guster songs come from it (e.g. "Mona Lisa" and "Eden," which both were considered for the feature). It was their debut album, and so their sound did evolve some throughout the discography. I like the album though mainly for the freedom I perceive in the songs, along with the acoustic vibe. Kinda like a bare-bones version of Dispatch perhaps. Or maybe a less elegant shade of the Fleet Foxes? Eh, something like that, for their first album at least.
The cover art has its charms. Though fairly simple, I think there's some magnitude there. A message of imagination's power? A jolly, giant monkey roams the open, hilly landscape? Whatever the interpretation, it's happy treats for the eyes match the gifts for the ears contained inside. Final words: Enjoyable all around.
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