Just when bluegrass music has begun to fly off the rails into kitschy oblivion, Punch Brothers pulls it back. A relatively new group of musicians, Punch Brothers has been able to make bluegrass feel less “downhome” and more “down at home.” Punch Brothers injects its music with a very distinct kind of melancholy that lowers the listener into a slump.
“Phosphorescent Blues,” the fourth album by Punch Brothers, exhibits this quality in spades. With 11 tracks, this album runs the gambit of folk music, starting with the dark tones of chamber music and ending up somewhere between R.E.M.’s “Out of Time” and The Avett Brothers’ “I and Love and You.” Despite this range, “Phosphorescent Blues” is one of the most tightly produced albums of the year so far. It’s short, sweet and to the point.
The opening song, “Familiarity,” clocks in at a little over 10 minutes. Ambitious to say the least, this track is practically two different songs feeding into each other. It starts off with violently fingerpicked mandolins by Chris Thile, who already made his name as a member of Nickel Creek. “Familiarity” then morphs into a thumping orchestral arrangement akin to those by Ellis Ludwig-Leone of San Fermin. The joy is cut short, and replaced by long, strenuous pulls on a violin and gut-punching harmonies.
The album’s two singles, “I Blew It Off” and “Julep,” are admirable songs. However, they do little to truly exemplify Punch Brothers’ ability to bend the rules of bluegrass around other forms of musical arrangement. “Magnet,” the fifth track off of “Phosphorescent Blues,” boasts a danceable mandolin riff paired with percussive guitar playing. The song combines the fast-paced lyrical banter and catchiness of a show tune with the lighthearted sexual themes more likely to be found in a Maroon 5 song.
“Little Lights” acts as a fitting end track to the album. A soft acoustic intro slowly builds into a chorus. The song’s intensity grows, adding harmonies and other instrumentation before exploding in a burst of sound, crashing drums and crooning. After comes a mandolin coda that slowly drifts off into silence.
Between the perfectly matched bookends of “Familiarity” and “Little Lights,” it’s easy to find more than one favorite song from this album. Specific tracks to consider are the strangely funky “Between 1st and A” and the dusty front porch theme that is “Boll Weevil.”