Phish - Round Room January 27, 2003 - Disc Domain by Eric Layton Album Review - Round Room Jam rock’s sleeping giant has awoken. Phish is back from a two-year hiatus with Round Room, an effort both welcoming and alienating. Recorded in under two weeks at the quartet’s remote Vermont studio, this disc impresses most when the songs are short and the melodies flow. It falters, though, when instrumental noodling runs amok. Yes, this is jam rock, but a fine line exists between inspired, jazzy improvisational flow and mere indulgence. You get both here. Graced with the same warm production sense of their sleepy 1996 CD Billy Breathes and the unmistakable feeling that these guys really love to play together, Round Room begins with “Pebbles and Marbles.” It’s a climactic slow burner that aptly suggests a new beginning — daybreak after extended darkness. From there, it’s a mixed bag, and it’s telling that the two numbers penned by bassist/sometime vocalist Mike Gordon (the kid’s music-like title track and the light confection “Mock Song”) are brisk and among the most enjoyable. Meanwhile, the melodic “Friday” nicely reveals a sensitivity and the lead-singing talents of three of Phish’s four members. Those are Round Room’s brighter corners, and they’re needed deviations from the win-some/lose-some pieces by bandleader Trey Anastasio and longtime lyricist Tom Marshall. While initially fun, the quirky “Mexican Cousin” is sunk by uncontemplated lyrics like “Well, I’m awful sorry you got pissed/Just have to cross you off the list...” and should have been a B-side or eventual box set filler. Also, long and winding detours like “Seven Below” and “Waves” will try the patience of even hardcore Phish-heads. Like a sloppy omelet, Round Room was whipped up in a flash, as the band understandably didn’t want to embark on their impending winter shows without fresh material. Its helter-skelter quality is neatly encapsulated on “Walls of the Cave,” somehow one of the best and worst tunes the group has ever done. There’s an all-too-rare tension and sense of urgency in Anastasio’s vocal delivery, as well as an epic feel overall. A few minutes in, however, it shifts into a really extended bout of uninspired jamming. Yes, Phish is back, but like those Darwinian creatures that crawled out of the sea, they’ll need to find their feet Copyright © 2003 Disc Domain