Last year, wow that is weird to say, was very eventful for Chris Thile. He got married, was announced as the next full time host of Prairie Home Companion, and The Punch Brothers released a new project called The Wireless late in the year. This 5 track EP consists of two songs available on the deluxe version of their last full length album, The Phosphorescent Blues. The EP also has two unreleased songs and a special cover that I am going to conclude with since it is the last song on the EP. Just like the previous full length project, this project has more of a thematic purpose than anything Chris Thile has ever done notwithstanding The Blind Leaving the Blind. While one can make the critique that an album title like The Wireless and songs called “Sleek White Baby” create an obtuse attempt to make a listener think, I believe it’s a big step for bluegrass in the right direction.
Since this is an EP I am able to give a track by track review of the album.
The first track “In wonder” starts with the smooth voice of Thile behind a dark fiddle drone. The lyrics, “Mother, Father, I’m Standing. Standing and I’m not about to fall. When I can speak I’ll tell you not to worry… for anything because nobody understands this world at all.” Are sung in a Joe Newberryesque spirit and defeatism that solidifies the dark atmosphere of album as soon as possible. There are reprieves in this song, Thile creates movements within 5 minutes with 5 instruments and this song best describes his ability to do this. The differences between the 1:20 mark and 2:45 mark in relation to dynamics, instrumental repertoire etc. completely changes and leaves the listener unable to focus on anything else besides what rabbit will come out of his hat next. And the most frightening part about it, is that I can listen to any part of this song and identify it to others. This ability to create continuity in chaos is what has made Thile’s music my favorite for years now.
This continuity between movements can sometimes happen on a grander scale. This is exemplified negatively by the second track on the EP, “The Hops of Guldenberg”. For some reason, Thile still insists on putting instrumentals on his albums even though all of his written lyrical material is five minutes long with instrumental bridges. The other problem with this specific instrumental is that it has the same “twist” as an instrumental off Who’s Feeling Young Now, “Flippen”. These songs both create stops that then commence in a riff and that instruments solo. I assume this was filler because Thile didn’t want to release a 4 track project. Skip.
The next track shows just how famous Thile has gotten over the years. He either has the money or connections to get Ed Helms to produce a vocal cameo describing the “Newest sensation”. This song, “Sleek White Baby” has the same feel as “Patchwork Girlfriend” a previous Thile work that doesn’t mean nearly as much as this tune. This song makes my generation look very shallow. It shows my peers and I as a group that can’t survive with the distance and lack of emotional connection that is evident in life. Our answer to this problem? Cell phones. Ed Helms says through an old time microphone, “For so many years man has suffered the plague of isolation” and “Man can be open to every arcane detail.” These types of jabs at the social media age are justified and I love thile for going there.
The next track, “No More, Yet.” reminds me of the instrumentals on the first punch Brothers album Punch. It even has a similar title if you are aware of the Punch Brothers other work. What I did find cool about this was the separation between the rhythm section (mando chop and banjo roll) and the twin fiddles.
The last track is not out of the bluegrass song book. Thile decides to cover the brilliant Elliot Smith’s ‘Celmentine” which is a gutsy move, but it pays off. This track shows how far Thile’s vocals have come and how now he is able to sing ballads with the best of them. While it will never come to be because of the style, I think Thile could be nominated for vocalist of the year. The songs begins with what I think is a mandola and a mandolin, but I could be wrong. If anybody is confident let me know. With such lyrics such as “Met an angel in the snow. Anything to pass the time. Keep that song out of my mind”, this does not have a bluegrass feel, but that doesn’t mean it can’t convey the same emotions such as isolation, and anger that bluegrass prides itself on. Thile and the rest of the Punch Brothers know this.
