Phish - Farmhouse May 21, 2000 - Playboy Magazine By David Greenberg Album Review - Farmhouse As Phish has been saying ad nauseam, the biggest news about Farmhouse is that for the first time in their recording career, they've wrested control of the production away from outside influence. And thanks to their newfound autonomy, Farmhouse captures the sonic feel of a live Phish show better than any of their previous studio releases. That's the good news. The bad news is that, once stripped of all studio shellac, frenetic genre-hopping and other pitfalls that befell their earlier work, it becomes painfully evident that they can't write an engaging song. Songs such as Twist Around, Gotta Jiboo and Sand -- all historically vehicles for transcendental jams -- peter out without ever really taking off, leaving the educated Phish fan realizing that the really interesting part of those songs starts after the five-minute mark. Phish's strength lies in their musicianship, their quirkiness and their serendipitous cohesion in musical spaces where you wouldn't think it possible. Farmhouse eschews those qualities in favor of a sonically disjointed suite of songs with amateurish hooks and pop philosophy lyrics. It may sound like Phish, but without the room to stretch out, it's a Phish out of water.