Like it or not, there's some inherent hilarity and appropriateness to the image that Phish have created for themselves, the image of a band of whacked out hippies who favour lengthy jams over traditional songs, and could probably write an encyclopaedia-sized volume about the effects of certain hallucinogenic drugs. Unfortunately, while their image is somewhat amusing, and their shows are legendary, their efforts in the studio have usually left a little to be desired, being unable to capture the spontaneity of their live performances. Sadly, "Undermind", which looks set to be the final studio album from the band, suffers from the same fate.

The album starts off promisingly, with Scents and Subtle Sounds, a musical introduction that leads nicely into Undermind, which features some clever lyrical wordplay that shows that Phish are capable of more than mind-bending instrumental jams. The Connection, with it's blend of acoustic and electric guitars may well be the most pop-oriented sound that the band has ever produced, whether it represents the band simply trying to expand their horizons into a place that they'd never gone before, or dealing in irony is impossible to determine.

The band's breakup seems to be alluded to in many places throughout the album, although if you didn't know what was happening, it would be difficult to garner it just from the lyrics. Certainly, there is a darkness and sorrow to the music that is uncommon for this band, but it's buried under such elegantly constructed song structures and cheerful-sounding pieces that it's not immediately obvious. Tracks like the gospel inspired Army Of One and the sing-along Two Versions of Me are particular examples of this.

Unfortunately, while "Undermind" is a good indicator of how much talent there is behind this band, it still fails to really show the band at their full potential. Too much of the spontaneity and randomness of the band is cut out in the studio, which in the case of this band, results in music that sounds just a bit too methodical and deliberate. Only one track manages to pass the six-minute mark, and there is only one chaotic instrumental jam, the brief Maggie's Revenge, which is really too short for the band to get anything established and happening.

So, sadly, while Phish have doubtlessly put a lot of effort into this album, and have improved significantly in some areas (such as songwriting), the album still sound a bit flat and just doesn't click. Perhaps it's because the band aren't concentrating on exploiting their strengths, or maybe the impending breakup just overshadowed the creative process and weighed too heavily on their minds. Either way, the result is an album that is as good as anything else in the Phish back catalogue, but which fails to showcase just why this band can be so spectacular.