Shine

Trey Anastasio's new album, Shine, comes out on Tuesday. You can listen to the whole thing on VH1's website. This is his first solo album since Phish broke up last summer and I generally like it. I'd say its bit more alt-rock sounding than I expected. Compared to the last Phish album, Undermind, its less radio-friendly, though Phish fans who long for a return to the days of 'Lawn Boy' and 'Story of the Ghost' will be disappointed - it completely lacks the meandering psychedelic feel that characterized the Phish glory days. The Phish vibe can still be felt in the lyrics, which adhere to the general Phish axiom that life is a pretty cool mystery.

I feel like lots of rock stars get lazy as they get older and stop challenging themselves. Their arrangements/accompaniments begin to sound uninspired - they settle into a boring and non-offensive James Taylor-like sound. Thats not the case with Trey so far. Overall, I was very pleased by a lot of his guitar work on Shine.

Trey is touring now and based on one listen I think these songs will be very jam-friendly.