Farmhouse

1	Farmhouse 4:02
2	Twist 3:24
3	Bug 5:07
4	Back on the Train 3:02
5	Heavy Things 4:15
6	Gotta Jibboo 5:31
7	Dirt 4:32
8	Piper 4:27
9	Sleep 2:09
10	The Inlaw Josie Wales 2:56
11	Sand 3:24
12	First Tube 6:45

Barnes & Noble

Like their stylistic predecessors the Grateful Dead, Phish are a wonderful anomaly in the music industry: a band capable of not only surviving but thriving while circumventing the usual routes to success. FARMHOUSE, which the group recorded in guitarist/vocalist Trey Anastasio's refurbished 150-year-old barn, is a testament to this fact. The low-key studio setting likely accounts for the album's sense of freedom and relaxed, cleared-eared concision, something lacking on earlier efforts. Phish capture more of the ebullience, strength, and diversity that has long been a part of their reputation-building live shows with a focused intensity that keeps their priceless jams from meandering. The title track opens FARMHOUSE with the cheerful groove and rich vocal harmonies that are Phish trademarks and then segues through songs that highlight the full scope of the band's abilities. There's the propulsive train groove of the aptly named "Back on the Train," the bouncy funk of "Gotta Jibboo," the chaotic yet joyous feel of "Piper," and the pensive tone to the acoustic interlude "The Inlaw Josie Wales." "First Tube" closes the album with an in-the-pocket groove and an elongated melody. Remarkably, not one song clocks in over seven minutes. With FARMHOUSE, Phish finally harnesses the energy and creativity of their live shows into a recorded work that translates their skills as evocative songwriters -- which means one of the most dynamic live bands may actually, deservedly get on the radio. Bravo. Steve DeLuca

All Music Guide

The party line on Phish is that the band's live shows are so extraordinary, their studio records are almost superfluous by comparison; frankly, it's a ridiculous contention -- apples and oranges, really -- and moreover, each successive Phish album reveals new layers of intricacy and melodic invention otherwise lost in the epic explosiveness of their concert sets. Their rootsiest and most organic effort to date, Farmhouse is also their most fully developed -- these are complete, concise songs and not simply outlines for extended jams, boasting a beauty and intimacy which expands the group's scope even as it serves notice of a newfound pop accessibility. It's a brave record, much less an exhibition of the band's vaunted instrumental prowess than it is a showcase for Trey Anastasio's increasingly skilled and far-reaching songwriting. The opening title cut, a gorgeously rustic country-pop ballad, immediately establishes Farmhouse's muted, relaxed tone, and despite the occasional detour like the sunny funk workout "Gotta Jibboo" or the closing instrumental jam "First Tube," by and large the set opts against kitchen-sink eclecticism in favor of an evocatively pastoral uniformity. In short, Farmhouse is everything Phish's die-hard legions no doubt hoped it wouldn't be, but as a radical reassessment of their music's purpose and approach, in many ways it's closer to the band's true spirit of innovation than any record they've made. Jason Ankeny

Spin Magazine

Farmhouse’s fumbled unmasking reveals a humane face that, grizzled as it is, meets ours, humbling grinning with no-bullshit connection. Jon Dolan