Phish serves up casual cool January 28, 2003 - California Aggie (USC) By Nick Holm Album Review - Round Room One could make many a bad pun about Phish. In fact, it takes a remarkable restraint of will to resist. But of course -- and as always -- it's worth it. But on their new record, Phish deserves better than puns. Love or hate it, there is something visceral under the surface of Round Room. Something, for want of a better word, fun. This is not an album to be taken lightly; to do so would spell certain doom. Yet Round Room hides behind a facade of superficiality. A cloak of muzak, if you will. Its sheer breadth threatens to overwhelm the listener, while its improvisational atmosphere gently soothes. The smoothness reminds the casual listener of elevator music. Round Room is the soundtrack to a movie where nothing exciting happens, but all the characters are always cheerful and casually cool. Cool in a classical sense, of course. There is nothing rushed, just a commitment to an individual vision; ultimately, it just glorifies itself. Well, it would, if it wasn't so much effort. It just sinks into itself, comfortable and casual. Funk, jazz, pop and rock mingle like old friends in a drunken lounge bar with horrible acoustics, but you just want to keep going back. There's an atmosphere in this crazy Round Room bar. No one in Phish tries to hide their flaws; they embrace them as the truth. The honesty adds to the relaxed buzz, permeating through the pores, overwhelming with a foot-tapping sense of good times, evincing a distinctive groove. This is really what a jam band is all about -- doing what comes naturally, be it funky, random or just plain old-fashioned. Round Room does what it does unashamedly. It never stoops below itself or tries to influence a generation. It is above caring for itself, or even recognizing the world. It is detached music and decadently docile. It makes for good times, when you just don't give a damn. Copyright © 2003 California Aggie (USC)