Trey Anastasio has shared “Evolve”, the latest song to be released from his at-home quarantine in New York City. This new tune was shared along with a do-it-yourself slideshow made with paper and markers.
While Trey had been in a bit of a “drought” in terms of his prodigious output from self-isolation over the past two weeks, it appears he is back at it. The video for the previously-debuted “Till We Meet Again“, released on April 24th, ended a 14-day gap without a new quarantine video from Trey, the longest gap between his steady stream of videos since early March.
“Evolve” marks yet another step in Trey’s growth as a music video director (move over, Mike Gordon). In this new creation, we begin with a title card bearing the song’s name, “Evolve”. The piece of loose-leaf paper is propped up against Trey’s laptop screen, and before long, he moves it away for a new card coming in from the left, one after another.
After a bouncy intro featuring drums and backup vocals, Trey begins the slideshow with a series of cards that introduce the song. From the tone of the cards, which speak of “our creator” who is “looking back” and realizing “that he… or she or it completely screwed up,” it appears that “Evolve” is told from God’s perspective. This is confirmed by the final card, which reads, “The Creator Speaks!” After that, the cards sync up with the lyrics (most of the time, at least when Trey isn’t singing faster than his hands can move).
Once the song is over, Trey offers the dictionary definition of “Evolve”, as well as a quote from Eckhart Tolle, “A significant portion of earth’s population will soon recognize, if they haven’t already done so, that humanity is now faced with a stark choice: evolve or die.”
Watch the newest Trey Anastasio quarantine video, “Evolve”.
Trey Anastasio – “Evolve”
For those counting, “Evolve” is the fourteenth song/video Trey has released from quarantine, (following “Till We Meet Again“, “The Silver Light“, “My World Is My Home“, “Are You There Colleen?”, “Lonely Trip”, “Shaking Someone’s Outstretched Hand”, “I Never Left Home”, “Lotus”, “When The Words Go Away”, “Timeless”, “I Never Needed You Like This Before”, “The Greater Good”, and “Lost In The Pack”). All of this is in addition to the new Phish album, Sigma Oasis, released on April 2nd. While the future of concerts and live events is uncertain, Trey clearly has plenty to keep him busy through a long quarantine.