Sigma Oasis

Album review

Sigma Oasis appeared without warning but arrived right on schedule. Phish kicked the album out within the course of a week in November 2019 then rushed it out in early April 2020, figuring that their fans could use its buoyant spirits as a balm during the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the group off the road for the foreseeable future. Apart from its speedy release, there's not much that ties Sigma Oasis directly to the spring of 2020. It floats happily out of time, trading upon ideas and grooves Phish have spent their years exploring, all accentuated with subtly fresh shifts and turns. Some of the reinvigorated spirit could be due to Phish switching producers, swapping the heavy-handed Bob Ezrin for the comparatively naturalistic Vance Powell, a veteran of many Jack White projects. The quartet doesn't indulge in blues skronk or other rootsy moves. They glide through loping, loopy lite funk, take a sideways glance at David Bowie on "Leaves," stretch their legs for 12-minute jams, and partake in a bit of good-natured pranksterism, but generally approach their work with good humor and a striking sincerity. Maybe the latter is due to how Sigma Oasis is the first album to be written primarily by Trey Anastasio (along with a handful of collaborators) in two decades, but this doesn't play like a star move or power trip. It's unified and relaxed, the rare Phish studio set that feels as effortless as a Phish concert.

© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo