Rift,
Phish's follow up to their major-label breakthrough
A Picture of Nectar, follows the same pattern as its predecessor, but doesn't live up to the surprising, adventurous music on
Nectar. Instead, most of the album sounds like an uninspired retread, as the band tries to fashion their songs into a loose concept album. The concentration on thematic unity tends to rob
Phish of the loose spontaneity that makes them unique and makes
Rift a bland, tedious listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine