Punch Brothers: Who's Feeling Young Now

[Jeff Budz]

I think they are trying to cross over Nickle Creek style with this new album. Some of the tunes are straight up hits to me, especially Clara. Can't wait to see them this Friday in MA, hoping for a really inspirational show.

One comment about the album: No solos? There was virtually no solos on the album (NYC has banjo and fiddle solo). Perhaps Thile has progressed beyond the need to take solos (with the PBs), but I wouldn't mind hearing a searing, soaring CT mando break in the modern PB sound. Perhaps the lack of solos is done to help with the crossover attempt.

[Jeff Oxley]

Seeing the PB's tonight in Roanoke--IF it doesn't get snowed out, it should be good! Critique/commentary to follow...

[Ark Isle]

Just got back home from the Wilmington show. It was a pretty great atmosphere, and I even got to meet Pickles and Thile after the show. They played almost their entire new album, with the exception of Clara, which I noticed was missing from the set. As for their older stuff, they played Rye Whiskey, Next to the Trash, Wayside, Alex, Brakeman's Blues, and an instrumental piece I could quite place. Also, Gabe and Noam played a piece from Beat the Devil while the rest of the band took a short break. For the encore, they played Patchwork Girl, Soon or Never, and a medley of riffing/soloing that was pretty neat.

Regarding solos, this is from Thile's own twitter: "crazy-*** solos get old fast on record though...I promise there'll be plenty of 'em live!" There was plenty of soloing going on last night, and plenty of Thile's trademark wiggling/dancing.

In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. If you have the opportunity to see these guys live, you should definitely go. The venue was great (I loved the balcony), and I ended up sitting next to a writer who was reviewing the show so I got to nerd out about the PB's/mandolin and that was great.

[Michael H Geimer]

I also caught the Boone show. I was really impressed with the textures and atmosphere PB creates using non-conventional techniques, taking the bluegrass idea of shared rhythm to the next (next, next) level up.

My wife complained about not being able to understand CTs vocals, and that what she could understand she did not like. I do wish his lyrics were on par with his melodic ideas (perhaps he needs a Hunter, or Taulpin).

- Benig

[brian77]

Saw them last night in roanoke after goinig to Herschels benefit show, what an amazing day of music!! I would HIGHLY recommend seeing them if you ever have the chance.The sound they create out of their instruments is amazing,to me its like watching a Tim Burton movie.

[Larry S Sherman]

Okay...gave it some time before piping in on this. I've listened to it about 9 times now, and usually all the way through. This one grows on you big time. Not just a great Punch Brothers release, but a great album for any genre.



Not a bad track on it. No dates near me...come back Chris!

Larry

[Jeffff]

I bought it, I like it.

[BradKlein]

They put on a fine show in a small club in NYC yesterday, Thile's birthday. Strangely, it felt a bit like another send off for a band that I've watched so carefully since their first days. They sounded great and I hope they reach a big new audience!

[Brian Court]

I like it

[Appalachia]

It's really interesting hearing the different reverberations as they cut between the different locations. They must have done quite a bit of post audio processing, because I would expect the differences to be far greater than they are in the video. You can actually hear that an EQ is crunching the highs on the outdoor clips to match the indoor ones better. Also, unless something really tricky is being done here, this is a testament to the Punch Brothers consistency; my guess is that they listened to a metronome just before starting each time, but they slightly change tempo through the song, so they had to be pretty consistent with those changes at every location.

[BradKlein]

A recap for those who dug into the rhythm patterns on the opening track of the new CD (I posted a week ago about the 'bridge' starting at 1:19). I asked Paul Kowert, the P-Bros' bass player to walk me through it, and he had this to say:

"Thile is playing groups of 16th notes in the following group length pattern: 5-5-7-5-5-5. those add up to 32, so the pattern always resets on a downbeat every two bars (16 16ths in a 4/4 bar--the whole song is in 4/4). Because the chords don't cycle in a square fashion at the beginning, the pattern resets on different chords, which is a cool effect."

So I think that it is essentially what MRT wrote out here:

mando
4----5----6-----|-1----2----3----|4----5----6-----|-1----2----3----
x---x---x---x---|x---x---x---x---|x---x---x---x---|x---x---x---x---
bass

Or maybe clearer written like this (first 2 1/4 bars in sixteenth notes):

mandolin
x - - - - x - - - - x - - - - - | - x - - - - x - - - - x - - - - | x - - - -
bass
x - - - x - - - x - - - x - - - | x - - - x - - - x - - - x - - - | x - - - x

Thile is mostly playing on the 1 (the first 16th note) of his pattern (5, 5, 7, 5, 5, 5) and Critter and Paul are steady on each quarter note. Paul confirmed that the passage began as an effort to simulate an echo effect, and evolved to its current form.

As an amateur with very little musical 'training' it takes me a long while to pick out things that are instantly clear to many musicians, but it gives me a lot of pleasure working it out (with as much help as I can find!).

[Mark Robertson-Tessi]

I asked Paul Kowert, the P-Bros' bass player to walk me through it, and he had this to say:

Very cool to hear it straight from the artist. Gives a bit of insight to how they developed it! Thanks!

Cheers
MRT

[acousticjazz]

Currently listening to the new album now, I really dig it. I like the direction that they're moving in, keep it up guys, hopefully going to see them at the Bluebird here in Denver in just a couple of weeks!

[Larry S Sherman]

Checking back into this thread...

This recording has real staying power for me. My iTunes play count claims that I've listened to the whole CD 15 times now, and it just keeps growing on me. "Clara" is like an anthem. I find myself screaming along "Your eyes are not a window..." like a lunatic driving in my car.

"Patchwork Girlfriend" is like a great Tom Waits song.

All the tracks are strong. It's been too long since the PB have played around here...last time was canceled due to a freak snowstorm.

Here's a new video:



Larry

[Bigtuna]

I'm still digging it!

[Larry S Sherman]

My pre-order CD got held up until the vinyl release date, which is March 20th, since I ordered both. I was able to download it as part of my order though. I hope they still have coasters left.

Larry

[Cackmandu]

Just got the NYC video, and that's about as good as it gets, IMO!

[Rob Fowler]

"Patchwork Girlfriend" is like a great Tom Waits song.

Hey, that's what I though, also, Larry. Nice to hear some different influences on this album. I still haven't gotten sick of it yet though I've take a break from it for a bit. I agree: not a bad song on there and I REALLY like "Who's Feeling Young Now" which is so different from any other stuff they've written.

[pjlama]

I gotta order it! I've been slacking off big time.

[Barry Wilson]

sorry PB fans but I just grabbed that free download mp3 and it's just too wishy washy for me. I love the goat rodeo sessions.

other tracks have proven to be better like post 106 above

[BradKlein]

I can't find much to compare between the Goat Rodeo and the new P-Bros disc. One's a special project with a group of purely acoustic super-players. The other is a band that's been playing constantly for the past 5 years and has evolved a totally unique sound based on the instruments of the BG quintet.

The current New Yorker piece may not have provided much substance, but at least it didn't call Punch Brothers a bluegrass band, and that was nice.

[mandolino maximus]

I love some of the things they do and I like the album as a whole. Good new stuff. It doesn't rise to "love" on the whole for me - I still think they can and will do better.

The line for them at Park West in Chicago was around the corner - sold out / great mix in the crowd. Part of that acoustic instrument / mando awareness thing in action. OTOH, I ruined my plan of hearing the music live before hearing the recorded version. They ended up not sounding as tight/crisp to me live. But maybe they weren't as tight as usual for that specific performance. (Still more together than a good band normally is.)

The more I see and hear Noam, the more impressed I am. I'd like to see him join Daves and Thile for something completely different for him - Sleep With Three Eyes Open.

[Capt. E]

Sure going to enjoy them at SXSW in two weeks. Last time I saw them was near 2 years ago at the Cactus Cafe here in Austin. I feel the complexity of their music just keeps going up. Crazy good!

[Jeff Budz]

sorry PB fans but I just grabbed that free download mp3 and it's just too wishy washy for me. I love the goat rodeo sessions.

other tracks have proven to be better like post 106 above

Pipeous, I'll agree that Movement & Location on it's own didn't hit my button, but this is an "album" and once I listened through it all the way a few times, the tracks I didn't love (M&L, Patchwork Girlfriend, Don't get Married) have grown a lot on me, and work in the album context. The only tune I don't really care for is Kid A, I pretty much always skip it.

In my opinion they are the finest band in acoustic music and I suspect we will get something different from every album they produce. I just hope they continue to put out an album every year and not get lazy. I also hope they can cross over and get some mainstream appeal, not just mando/acoustic geeks.

[Ben Somerville]

One comment about the album: No solos? There was virtually no solos on the album (NYC has banjo and fiddle solo). Perhaps Thile has progressed beyond the need to take solos (with the PBs), but I wouldn't mind hearing a searing, soaring CT mando break in the modern PB sound. Perhaps the lack of solos is done to help with the crossover attempt.

I'd like to hear more solos too, but yes, I think it is definitely that they are moving more toward the whole indie rock thing, and too many solos often is part of what make people who are biased against bluegrass think "bluegrass...ugh." Yes, many of us may not like this album quite as much because of this change and others, but let's face it, we are the minority. Pop music is popular, and the Brothers wanted to reach a broader audience then bluegrass bands ever have...you can't blame them!