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Trey Anastasio: Traveler

ATO

Trey Anastasio has long threatened to unleash his inner hipster, from trying out songs by Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel and TV on the Radio with Phish to name-dropping My Bloody Valentine and Animal Collective in interviews. But with Traveler, Anastasio finally lets his plaid flag fly, pouring his latest solo material into an indie rock mold.

As genre labels go, indie rock is even less precise than “jamband,” and the musical meaning of the term has evolved drastically throughout the years. Currently, the most commercial flavor is dominated by somber, mid-tempo tunes sopping with quirky ambience and artisanal orchestration. It’s this mopey movement that Trey latches onto with Traveler, working with members of The National (and their producer, Peter Katis), Bon Iver and Mates of State.

When the album begins with an astral swell right off of The National’s High Violet, it’s apparent that those collaborators are more than just liner-note padding. Weird keyboards and percussion float around the periphery of most songs, and guitar solos are eschewed in favor of Arcade Fire-style string-and-brass swells. Consider “Let Me Lie”—improved in its third studio edition by propulsive drumming from The National’s Bryan Devendorf and swirling orchestration.

But all too often, the songwriting fails to keep pace with the atmosphere. Songs originally workshopped by Anastasio’s TAB lineup, such as “Pigtail” or “Valentine,” are straightforward rockers unsuited for the indie treatment, like a dad wearing skinny jeans. On the fresher songs (“Corona,” “Architect”), Anastasio draws too much on The National influence, producing multiple somnolent ballads that lean too hard on the production to cover up the lack of melody.

The exceptions are “Land of Nod” and “Scabbard,” two songs where Anastasio straddles past and future. In both, rhythmic layers, proggy song structure and unusual instrument combinations assemble quilt-like to create a welcome unpredictability, while also tidily summing up the various phases of Anastasio’s careers in terse fashion.

When people advocate for an indie/jamband merger, it’s typically to urge today’s young bands to try their hands at, improvisation. Traveler is the reverse equation, and in a weird way, its shortcomings may reflect less poorly on Anastasio than on indie rock, revealing the formulaic qualities of the genre’s current stars. For the Phish guitarist, it hints at a creative second act—but only if his inner hipster is kept in balance with his other talents.