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PhantasyTour Review of 'Untying the Not'
Source: Phantasy Tour
Posted by: dgreenhaus
Posted on: 2003-09-16 15:54:19 ET
Last Updated: 2003-09-16 17:00:18 ET
Review By Dan Greenhaus
 For their first album in two years, String Cheese Incident have teamed up with the most unlikely of producers in Youth, who's credits include Orb, Crowded House and a variety of other bands that are as close to the jamband world as String Cheese is to the electronic world, which is to say, not very close. The band was, by their own admission, hesitant to work with Youth due to their different backgrounds and influences, but in the end, the band wanted to make use of the studio, to make it an instrument in itself, and felt Youth was able to help them achieive that goal. The end result, Untying the Not, which hits stores September 23, is nothing short of an engaging, inspired and thouroughly enjoyable listen that finds SCI now having, among its other accolades, achieved a rarity in the Jamband realm; A great album.
Not just a collection of songs, Untying the Not flows seamlessly, from the album's opening track "Wake Up", perhaps the best Nershi penned tune on the album, to its last, "On My Way". Perhaps it is the maturity in their lyrics, perhaps it is the creativity spurred on by entering into an unconventional recording process, but whatever the reason, the band has created their best effort to date. Along the journey, the band explores new sounds, new styles and new topics, creating a sound that will be equally unfamiliar to fans as it is reassuring. After all, it is a String Cheese album, and that fact is almost never lost on the listener. Almost.
Courtesy of FriendsofCheese.com
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While the third song, "Looking Glass", sounds almost exactly like String Cheese of old, especially towards the end, it is on tracks four and five, "Orion's Belt" and "Mountain Girl", both instrumentals, that the band really demonstrates its new sound, highlighted by Nershi's playing on the electric guitar. Both songs sound light years away from previous material from the band, with the former sounding less like String Cheese than it does "Division Bell" era Pink Floyd. The guitar and drums work in perfect combination with the other instruments, creating a truly beautiful song that is sure to thrive in the live setting. The latter, "Mountain Girl", named for Jerry Garcia's ex Carolyn, sounds equally Pink Floydian, however more "Momentary Lapse of Reason" era, with its spoken word underpinnings, horns, and multiple layers of instrumentation.
It is this early-middle portion of the disk that the band has really established its "new" sound, which is only explored further as the album progresses. Kyle Hollingsworth's "Elijah" ensues, continuing the feel of the album, but as "Valley of the Jig" kicks into gear, everything is thrown off just a bit. Easily the most upbeat and danceable track on the album, the Electro-Jig seems a little out of place on the album, and in a broader sense, in String Cheese's song catelog. But the band wanted to accomplish something different with this album, and a song like "Valley of the Jig" is a perfect example of achieving that end. But the band quickly regains its footing with the next song, the Kang-led "Tinder Box", a soaring rock tune with more stellar musicianship by the entire band.
Courtesy of FriendsofCheese.com
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The last three songs on the album continue with more introspective lyrics, notably on "Who Am I?", an emotional Kyle tune that borrows heavily from the Beatles. The song, along with "Wake Up" serve as the two best overall songs on an album filled with good songs, and make this album worth owning on their own. While the combination of Youth and String Cheese has provided fans with something equally new and old in Untying the Not, fans can breathe easy knowing that songs like "Who am I? and "Wake Up" are every bit as traditional "Cheese" as any of their earlier material, featuring slightly more maturity in the lyrics and topics being explored.
An album filled with deep lyrical meaning, and soaring musicianship, Untying the Not is sure to not only please fans, but thrill them. Nobody wants to remain stagnant in whatever it is that they do, and the String Cheese Incident are no different. The band is undoubtably taking a risk with this album, but a mitigated risk at that. The album is still, at its core, String Cheese. This isnt a 180 degree U-turn from what they've been doing, but at the very least, they've changed lanes on their career highway. And just like a traveling buddy on a long road trip, fans are already throwing on their blinkers and changing lanes right behind.
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