Umphrey’s McGee turned 2018 into a yearlong anniversary party, celebrating two decades of shapeshifting jam-prog with a seemingly endless string of material. They’d already issued two legit studio albums ( it’s not us and it’s you ), a remix EP ( it’s not them ) and an official live set ( Hall of Fame: Class of 2017 ), so where else was there to go? Ah, yes, an odds-and-sods collection of leftovers and choice live cuts, fittingly titled BeSides . Defying all logic, the LP is way more than an afterthought—hitting the same quality level as their full-blown studio predecessors. The hodgepodge structure offers the record a dizzying mixtape zest, as the track list veers from instrumental prog grandeur (the previously unreleased-on-digital studio cut “Interloper,” highlighted by a section of harmonized guitar leads) to long-winded live jams (“Remind Me,” a funk-meets-metal anthem for the ages) to raw demos (the Beatles-y folk ballad “You & You Alone”). Most of the live recordings highlight the band’s expertise with stage exploration—not only ripping out tasty solos but also deepening and developing melodic and rhythmic themes. On record, “The Silent Type” is a fairly tame bluesrocker; but it becomes a snarling disco-funk behemoth in front on audience; “Attachments” veers off from its polished arena-rock riffs into a face-melting synth solo. BeSides is the after-party to the after-party to the after-party—a victory lap for Umphrey’s McGee’s banner year.