On the list of peculiar things to define in print, Punch Brothers’ new album cross-wires the typically upbeat nature of old-timey hill music with the shadows of Southern Gothic before placing the hybrid in a high-brow concert hall context complete with classically styled compositional forms. It’s like listening to tales of hellfire and damnation drenched in sunshine and played with the reserve of cultured men that prefer to wallow in the pig pen rather than roost in the hen house. Punch sets this image in the minds of listeners right from the get-go as lead singer and mandolinist Chris Thile leads his good old uptown boys through a series of breathtakingly well-composed and arranged tracks.
The singer invokes the vision of a sighing, testifying and confessing sinner that has resolved to serve his penance and warn others to avoid his folly in the music he grew up with. The way that songs including “Punch Bowl” and “Nothing, Then” present the singer’s ruminations is nothing short of intoxicating and Thile’s backing band—set up in classic hill style, acoustic and drum free (as were once the rules at The Grand Ole Opry)—bolsters the images by fleshing it out with period-sensitive clichés.
Except that even cursory observation illustrates that the image isn’t true—not by a long shot. It’s more interesting and not anywhere near as cut-and-dry.
Three quarters of Punch’s runtime is occupied by the giveaway: a 42-minute, four-movement concerto entitled “The Blind Leading The Blind.” In it, Punch Brothers are painted as nothing short of a hill music symphony as the players flow dramatic peaks and valleys previously unconsidered for the genre with tremendous dexterity and ease. Therein lies Punch Brothers’ secret weapon: through raw talent, the band manages to make listeners believe that anything is possible as they introduce an element of classicism into a medium that isn’t just folk based, it is the root and definition of folk. In that way, Punch represents an exciting new growth extension from a very old genre; it’s an unlikely combination, but an invigorating one.
For more information, check out: www.punchbrothers.com and myspace.com/punchbrothers
