On Halloween night 2021, New Miami natives Sci-Fi Soldier traveled back in time from the year 4680 and borrowed the bodies of Phish to save Earth from The Howling with a live performance of their album, Get More Down.
Since current streaming platforms typically don’t offer albums from the future, grateful fans have been forced to settle for the live version of the album as performed by Phish throughout the past year. On Halloween 2022, however, listeners woke up to a surprise treat: A studio version of Get More Down by Sci-Fi Solider has appeared on Spotify and other major streaming platforms.
Not much information on the surprise release is available. It’s not even credited to Phish on Spotify, just Sci-Fi Soldier, although Phish’s JEMP Records is listed as the label. It may bring to mind some fan-made Kasvot Växt “studio tracks” that surfaced back in 2018, the last time Phish created a new band to “cover” on Halloween, but even a cursory listen confirms that this is the work of Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Page McConnell, and Mike Gordon—or, to keep it canon, Clueless Wallob, Paulie Roots, Pat Malone, and Half-Nelson.
While it is unclear when the “album version” of Get More Down by Sci-Fi Soldier was recorded, it is readily apparent when listening to the new release that the songs have been refined from the maximalist renderings they received last Halloween. The tracks still have the loose feel of a live performance, but they benefit greatly from extra mixing attention, additional instrumental parts (see: “I Am In Miami”, now with drums), well-placed overdubs, and more.
The heavy, industrial sounds and experimental tilt of the Halloween 2021 version remain, but they have been honed to highlight, rather than complicate, the ambitious scope of the Sci-Fi Soldier comic book narrative. The result is a much more focused, cohesive suite of songs that serves to better present the universe Phish created for the spectacle.
While Phish may be taking this Halloween off, this trick/treat from Sci-Fi Soldier is sweet enough to hold us over. Listen to the full studio version of Get More Down by Sci-Fi Soldier via the player below or on any major streaming platform. Revisit our full coverage of the Phish/Sci-Fi Soldier Halloween show from 10/31/21 here. Read the full Sci-Fi Soldier comic book here.
Sci-Fi Soldier – Get More Down – Full Studio Album
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