Here's the thing.
Mike Gordon
is the bass player from
Phish
. Even though he is also a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, filmmaker, and a whole lot of other things, and has several solo albums and other projects under his belt, the frame of reference for
Gordon
is always going to be
, in the same way that whatever
Ringo Starr
does is always backlit by the fact that he was the drummer for
the Beatles
. Helping this perception along, though, is
's penchant for mixing the same elements into his solo albums as
always did, crafting songs that ride on thick grooves, always shifting and expanding, full of space and turns, and lyrics as whimsical and fleeting as rainbow smoke.
Overstep
is a case in point. Produced by
Paul Q. Kolderie
(the first time
has used an outside producer on one of his solo projects), with songs co-written by
and longtime collaborator
Scott Murawski
, and featuring the drumming of
Matt Chamberlain
,
unfolds exactly like a
album. The songs twist and turn in the same fashion (although
brings more pure pop touches to the table than
does) and a kind of warm whimsy invades everything. The opener, "Ether," sets the tone, and
sings that he gets seen by a Cyclops, launched into the sky, and in the sky he finds rocket components which he attempts to assemble into a new girlfriend, and that's just the second verse. In "Tiny Little World," which is set in a coffeehouse, he actually sings "you hot like a hibachi." The reggae-based "Yarmouth Road," which starts out as a song about pouring concrete in a hole and ends up being about a candlelight dinner and renewed hopes as yet unanswered, has a sunny vibe that could even land it on the radio. That's the tone here, and
and his assembled band can play like crazy, which means
is exactly like a pretty good
album, quirky and propulsive, light as dragon's breath, full of winks and asides, from
's bass player. ~ Steve Leggett