Yes, the new Punch Brothers album. The Phosphorescent Blues has drums. Let’s just get that out in the open before I begin my review of what I believe to be the greatest album the Punch Brothers have put out yet. Everything is just on a larger scale than their past works, even their first album Punch, which has Thile’s 4 movement story of his divorce, “The Blind Leading the Blind”. I believe the new heights the Punch Brothers are reaching are directly connected to the fact that this is the first album that producing legend T-Bone Burnett was involved with. An example of the risks taken and achieved on this album is the first track, “Familiarity”. This 10:23 long track consists of an atonal string section, a key change, 4 different parts, and 3 part background harmonies. This probably isn’t bluegrass, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be something more. This song will be one of Thile’s jewels in his crown when his career is over as he softly sings lines like “I see an end where I don’t love you like I can.” What is so ironic is that this song contradicts the title in the way it makes the listener constantly unfamiliar with where we are in the song and if it is even the same song.
And don’t even get me started on “Julep”. Thile’s wordplay is other worldly. A simple love song turns into much more with Thile’s sincerity and the bands three part harmonies that represent the beauty of death that the song is about. My favorite moment on the whole album is the last verse of this song where Thile sings, “You were the girl that I would meet/ for drinks in the backyard/ a beautiful daughter lifetimes of summer.” A huge influence on this album is that Thile is finally at peace with himself in a way he hasn’t been since his divorce. His new marriage is obviously the inspiration for this song and many more on this album. Thile’s previous music like “Blind Leaving the Blind” and “Next to the Trash” are intelligent and powerful, but now he can write songs like those as well as “Julep”, which is a song that we haven’t heard from Thile since his days in Nickel Creek.
The song that reminds me of “Next to the Trash” is “magnet” here he still reminisces about his ex wife and how their similar personalities led to them being repelled by each other instead of connecting them. This song is also very comparable to his pop rock style where he contorts the general formula into something that confuses the listener and enthralls the music mind. The little quirks in the rhythm and the peculiar back ground vocals and string make this one of the highlights on the album.
“My oh my” is a musical journey. For the first minute it sounds like a Monroe tune until it turns into one of the most melodic songs on the album. But then it goes back to the Monroe, blues style mandolin? I’m confused. And the harmonies are impeccable. After listening to this album, I heard myself singing the tenor part to the chorus instead of the lead. The production by T-Bone Burnett saw the potential of the tenor stand out and it worked out incredibly well. After running through this album a few times, this is the song I always go back to.
To throw a bone to the bluegrass fans that have faith that Chris Thile will eventually see the light, he ha given you “Boll Weevil” which has a very “Rye Whiskey”. Again the highlight of this song has to be Eldridge’s tenor to go along with Witcher’s driving fiddle that goes throughout the entire song. If one is a novice to the Punch Brothers, but likes bluegrass, this is the song to get them hooked.
The Phosphorescent Blues will be playing through my head phones and speakers very often for the distant future. The amount of thought put into this album is equal to, if not more than, the last three, and T-Bone Burnett’s production allows the band to be heard in a different way than they have before.
