Who's Feeling Young Now?
(Nonesuch)
It's a scary thought, but after two albums that established their ability bend the bluegrass string-band tradition into extraordinarily sophisticated shapes, Punch Brothers may just be hitting their stride with this one. There's a confidence in mandolinist Chris Thile's singing here that really sells songs that, melodically, go round unexpected corners in a way earlier efforts maybe didn't quite manage, and instrumentally the group is really beginning to find an easy blend of big-city toughness, backwoods sweetness, daring experimentation and exhilarating virtuosity. At times they sound like the 21st-century love children of the Dillards (in their 1960s bluegrass pomp) and King Crimson. Some influences they openly admit – their cover of Swedish masters Väsen's Flippen produces a joyous bluegrass polska; others, such as the Kinks-like Patchwork Girl, lie in wait for listeners willing to discover, through the startlingly inventive opening track Movement And Location and others, just how far the banjo-driven pop song has travelled since The Hollies' Stop Stop Stop.
