The album is called Eisenhower. A collection of original, multi-layered, melody driven post-rock compositions, Eisenhower is heavy on beauteous pop construction, boasting deft atmospheric embellishments, falsetto vocals bursts and Mantra-like chants that in a single song can range from 'Wooh' to 'Woah.'

It is, however, decidedly light on meandering instrumental passages.

This, surely, cannot be the work of The Slip, the Boston-based trio whose jamband credentials include a stint on Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks' label and an album recorded in Phish's barn. That band, as we have known since the release of The Slip's 1996 debut album -- a veritable Bitches Brew-fest -- was light on woohs and woahs ... and heavy on lengthy solos.

Of course, that was a lifetime ago for the three men who abandoned their Berklee School of Music studies to hit the hippie jamband trail. So long ago, in fact, drummer Andrew Barr can scarcely recall when it all began.

"People ask how long we've been together," Barr says, "and I always have to scratch my head."

In fairness, he's referring not to The Slip's transformation into pop craftsmen, but to the fact he and the band's guitarist, Barr's brother Brad, were together long before they discovered kindred musical spirit Marc Friedman in the early 1990s.

"We have a funny career, in that sense," he observes. "But at least we get along."

Moreover, they have shared a journey through a variety of musical influences, embracing mentors from Can to U2 to Built to Spill along the way, and forging a powerful, distinctive sound together. Even if associated growing pains meant a four-year stretch between new album Eisenhower and its studio predecessor.

"We were experiencing some band schizophrenia," Barr explains. "We were going in some different directions, and we wanted to be stable with what we were doing before we put something out. We also weren't sure where the music business was going, and whether there was a place for us in it."

One thing of which they were sure, Barr notes, was The Slip's desire to exist outside the jam-band scene.

"That whole jam-band world never seemed like a scene to me," Barr says. "It was more of an atmosphere. But the only way we could get away from it was to take some time to craft a record.

"We never actively sought out a branding concept for the band. So we haven't consciously strayed from anything, really. What we're doing is true to the music we've always loved. It's just a matter of taking the 20-minute explorations and turning them into six-minute songs with twists and turns."

Besides, he adds, even with the newer material the band has "left a lot of room" to improvise within the existing structure, should they choose to do so.

"We'll still pick our nights if we want to try something," he says. "We still like to explore."

Friday at Barrymore's, The Slip will go exploring with the aid of fellow adventurers Lovely Feathers and Land of Talk. Not a jamband in the bunch. Of course, one should never assume anything about The Slip. And that's the way the like it.

"We're not exactly sure what we'll be up to for the next album," Barr admits. "But I'm starting to develop a faith in longevity.

"If you always feel like there's a lot more ahead of you, you're in good shape. And we're still always searching for that new sound."