WGRE Column: Progressive bluegrass outfit continues to push the envelope

From the release of their first single “I Blew it Off” and the announcement that T. Bone Burnett (Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Inside Llewyn Davis) would be producing the album, it was apparent that the Punch Brothers would be releasing something different. For the first time in the band’s history, they introduced drums and electric guitar while leaving out frontman Chris Thile’s adept mandolin playing. Some fans were aghast, claiming that the Punch Brothers sold out. Then the album dropped and proved the naysayers wrong.

The album opens with “Familiarity” a 10-minute epic about losing touch with reality due to our society’s self absorption reflected by online personalities and smartphone use. Featuring chamber-like harmonies and classical instrumentation, the song is reminiscent of the group’s first album, Punch, while continuing to push their sound forward. It provides the soundscape and a general theme for the 11-song collection.

While the lyrics in “Familiarity” tend to be a little cryptic with its staccato line breaks, they are very blunt about the album’s message in “My Oh My,” a song about the absurdity of ignoring the beauty of the world around us and escaping into something pointless shared by others. With lyrics like “How long, Oh Lord, can you keep the whole world spinning under our thumbs,” Thile expresses his fear for humanity if this trend continues.

Although the band never pretended to be a traditional bluegrass outfit, they tend to include at least one traditional-sounding bluegrass song on each album; thankfully The Phosphorescent Blues is no exception. With the combination of Gabe Witcher’s raucous fiddle and Noam Pikelny’s frenetic banjo playing, “Boll Weevil” is perfect for any foot stomping, whiskey-drinking occasion.

The Phosphorescent Blues is musically and lyrically stunning, but perhaps the most impressive part of the album is that the band found the time to make it. While the album’s predecessor Who’s Feeling Young Now was released in 2012, everyone in the group released countless side projects during their time off. Thile alone released an album of Bach covers, a new Nickel Creek album and an album with Edgar Meyer, all in 2014. The group also contributed a couple songs to the Cohen Brothers’ Inside Lywyn Davis soundtrack. With this kind of productivity, it is clear that the Punch Brothers practice what they preach and use their smart phones as a tool rather than a distraction.

Essential Tracks: “Familiarity”, “My Oh My”, “I Blew it Off”, “Magnet”