Phish broke up. The Dave Matthews Band needed a Julia Roberts cameo to attract attention. The Grateful Dead lost the adjective, and with that their throngs of loyal followers dispersed. It seems as if the high may finally be lost for jam bands. The underrated String Cheese Incident, however, takes advantage of the dying jam scene with its fifth studio album, One Step Closer, which emphasizes a little less jam and a little more soul. It may be One Step by title, but it's one giant leap for String Cheese.
Having spent the last 10 years lurking in the shadows, selling hundreds of thousands of albums but never receiving the mainstream devotion rendered to their rivals, String Cheese finally went home — literally. They recorded One Step Closer in their home state of Colorado and, as a result, their album steps away from the music created on the smoky road, offering instead a sense of maturity. Singing of real and significant issues like rebirth and betrayal, in comparison to prior inflated references to jellyfish and robots, though String Cheese cannot rid themselves of their goofy name, the 13 tracks on One Step Closer suggest the band is ready to be taken seriously.
Jam bands are defined less by their musical composition and more by the recreational activities of their core audiences. String Cheese, therefore, doesn't necessarily redefine "jam," but instead, with no track on One Step Closer surpassing the five-minutes-and-twenty-seconds mark, they have created a jam band album containing very little jamming. Rather, they offer up a little bit of everything else.
The album's first track, "Give Me the Love," sounds like a soft Billy Joel tune. It begins with a sound of innocence — five free-spirited guys signing and picking away in the Colorado outdoors. Then the song, both lyrically and melodically, progresses into something a little less idyllic; something more suitable for an outdoor venue housing a sea of glossy-eyed fans. This track clearly represents the band's development and movement throughout the last decade, and with its fluctuating tempo and empowering guitar solo, sets the rhythm (a driving bluegrass/jazz/folk/country/rock) that is executed throughout the remainder of the album.
It is the unhurried "Big Compromise," however, that most obviously narrates the band's history. This country-influenced song admits to the band's struggle for camaraderie, stating, "OK, I'll admit that I'm guilty at times / Of wanting my own way, drawing that line."
For a group that's been strumming together for over a decade, it's refreshing to hear that their relationship isn't completely unblemished. And judging from the quality of this track, such disputes and challenges ultimately constructed an adhered, balanced and liberated band.
Compromising, it appears, is what distinguishes String Cheese from other like-minded groups. Not to belittle the talent of the non-vocalists, but there's a reason why it's called The Dave Matthews Band — the band is simply a supplement to Dave's beloved voice. On One Step Closer, all five String Cheese members' distinct voices are heard, both literally and figuratively. Each member has writing credits on at least two of the tracks and all five are credited as vocalists. It is their broad repertoire and consequent diversity that steers this album toward success.
This kaleidoscopic collection may reach a wide range of genres, but its base is still embedded in bluegrass. "Sometimes a River" is quintessential bluegrass accompanied with intense imagery not short of poetic: "You danced in my dream in a white dress / I watched from the top of the stairs / I woke up looking to find you / But you were not there".
The song seamlessly mixes the harmonies of the Allman Brothers Band with the sass of Phish, generating an addictive tune with a shoulder-swaying edge.
Arguably the album's best track, "Until the Music's Over" delivers a much-needed lift in both tempo and content. It's a song that demands car windows be rolled down and the speed limit be ignored. Although the repeated line of "Let's dance until the music's over" may not sound worthy of much praise, it's the smooth vocals and systematic beat, combined with more substantial lyrics like "Hide with me / Before the pink dawn light begins to show," that create a feel-good, carpe diem kind of song, perhaps suited for weddings, funerals and Woodstock anniversaries.
Despite successfully collecting 13 unique and liberated tracks, the album's faults occur when the band strays too far from its well-known roots. They may have avoided being destructively typecast into a specific genre, but there are still limitations on how far they can stretch. "Silence In Your Head" contains inflated lyrics and sounds like a ballad that could tarnish even a sappy Clay Aiken's career. The band's only attempt at classic rock, "Swampy Waters," has potential but the song itself is redundant and way too long — a sure-fire recipe for a premature hit of the Skip button.
There are the Phishheads and the Parrotheads, and with One Step Closer the String Cheese Incident might generate their own distinct fan base — the Cheeseheads, perhaps? But even if their popularity never reaches the iPods of the masses, the release of this distinct and unconfined album simply proves that the Cheese really does stand alone.
Grade: B
