Forty-one years into their career, Phish haven’t lost any of their creative wanderlust, managing to avoid virtually every “nostalgia act” trap by never standing still long enough to be troped into that doomed destination. The secret? Constant evolution and relentless exploration. Each studio release documents a different intent and timestamped meaning, offering static souvenirs from a band in perpetual motion. Fittingly, then, Evolve celebrates Phish’s current landscape, where densely elaborate compositions (Junta) and intense freneticism (Rift) have been usurped by a space of equal potency—but one where elegance replaces note-density and grace presents a more mature intensity than mere velocity. If Sigma Oasis was Phish’s barn jam masterpiece, then its follow-up, Evolve is Phish’s song-loaded bonfire hang. Half of these tracks have appeared in less-adorned forms on Trey Anastasio’s pandemic-era releases, and Phish has previously performed all but two of these selections live. The remaining two— “Valdese” and “Human Nature”—have been played live by Anastasio or Mike Gordon, respectively, with their solo projects. Several tunes—including “Oblivion” and “Pillow Jets”—are already jam vehicles in their live habitat. Here, however, compositional craft takes the spotlight for a different kind of jam—posterity art. “Ether Edge” offers a gorgeous meditation on the afterlife, while its counterpart, “Hey Stranger,” celebrates life’s fleeting nature in a very groovy kind of way. “Monsters” (an album highlight) feels like it could be a late-night Gorillaz deep cut, while “Mercy” might be the Sam Beam song he didn’t know he needed, with a windswept string section elevating it to a height not quite predicted by its initial studio iteration. The strings add significant sophistication throughout Evolve, dressing up the songs in an album-only wardrobe for a date-night soundtrack. Anastasio’s longtime collaborator, Don Hart, arranged and conducted most of the orchestration, perhaps most prominently on the title track—a song that lyricist Tom Marshall considers his finest contribution yet. The powerhouse first-time tag-team of Vance Powell (Sigma Oasis) and Bryce Goggin (Farmhouse, Round Room) sharing the producer’s chair might have something to do with the album’s ultimate success as a distinctive entry into the band’s now-vast catalog. If you still want sheer shred, then fear not—Phish will be performing near you sometime soon. But as far as dinner albums go, Evolve is this season’s score.