by Stephen Thomas ErlewineOn their fifth album, Welcome to My Party, Rusted Root decides to delve into full-fledged funkiness, tempering these elastic party grooves with their neo-hippie, acoustic earnestness. Both sides are polished rather heavily by producer Bill Bottrell, resulting in a record that feels like it positions the group to share territory with the Dave Matthews Band. Since they've been leaning in this direction for a while, this isn't an awkward move, but it's still a little jarring, especially when heavy guitars are married with chants on "Women Got My Money." Rusted Root remains as versatile as ever as musicians, and there are moments where the production and their sound gel, but overall, it's may be a little bit too much for longtime fans.