Thursday, February 12, 2015

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE PUNCH BROTHERS - THE PHOSPHORESCENT BLUES



With everyone clamoring to add banjo and mandolin to their band the past couple of years, Les freres Punch pull ahead of the pack with their instrumental mastery. Plus, it all really does feel like a new sound they've created. Bluegrass harmonies turn into lush pop vocals, classical strings bend and bow themselves into rock sounds, genre walls give way in every direction.


Tracks such as Familiarity and My Oh My uses movements instead of verse structure. Boll Weevil is much more traditional, yet, comes near the virtuosity of Bela Fleck's style. Between 1st and A has the mystery and melancholy of a Paul Simon city-life lyric, stirring string parts and intricate pickin' too. It's really too bad everybody's going bluegrass, because the more commercial of the groups are getting a lot of the attention these guys deserve.

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