Antifogmatic, the follow-up to the Punch Brothers' 2008 debut,
Punch, is a collaboratively written collection of songs from
these "five wily, omnivorous bluegrass titans," as the Village
Voice has called them, a quintet that the Washington Post, in
turn, has described as "some of the best string pickers of the
new generation."
Antifogmatic is seamlessly sequenced to display the collective
imagination, the instrumental and vocal power, of the band
-Thile, guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjo
player Noam Pikelny, and fiddler Gabe Witcher. Though the quintet
is now based in New York City, where they have an informal
residency at Manhattan's The Living Room, they recorded and mixed
the album at Hollywood's historic Ocean Way studio with
iconoclastic producer Jon Brion (Brad Mehldau, ee Mann, Fiona
Apple, Kanye West) and engineer Greg Koller. Says Witcher, "We
knew we needed a producer equally as well-versed in pop and rock
as in instrumental music, and I don't think there is anyone more
able to capture and communicate the essence of this material than
Jon Brion."
The arrangements on Antifogmatic range from to
boisterous and back; genre-wise, the band once again ventures
where no string band has ever gone before. The spare opening
track "You Are" contrasts percussive guitar riffs with lyrical
string parts that dance around Thile's sweet upper register as he
spins a tale of romantic emancipation; occasionally, the other
instruments give way to reveal the throb of the bass. The band
also engages in some unexpectedly beautiful harmony singing,
smoothing out the compelling melodic twists and turns of "Welcome
Home." "Me and Us" and "Woman and the Bell" both have a
dream-like quality; the former, in fact, was inspired by those
jumbled, thought-filled moments before sets in, and the
instrumentation keeps pace with the ever-shifting imagery. In
contrast, "Don't Need No" and "Rye Whiskey" are foot-stomping
barroom boasts and"Next to the T" is the closest the band
gets to traditional bluegrass, even as the lyrics tug the piece
in a more surreal direction.
The Punch Brothers are as comfortable at the jam band-oriented
Bonnaroo Festival, where they will appear in June, as at Carnegie
Hall. Their fan base ranges from the hip youthful crowds that
packed the Living Room to the dedicated listeners of NPR's
Prairie Home Companion, which has also hosted the exceedingly
good-humored boys.
The group will be on tour throughout the spring and summer and
will make appearances at the Newport Folk Festival and the
Telluride Blugrass Festival. A special deluxe edition of
Antifogmatic includes a four-song instrumental EP and a
seven-song DVD filmed during the band's Living Room residency.
The first 250 copies will also include a signed "Punch Cocktail
Recipe Guide." The word "Antifogmatic," explains Thile," is an
old term for a bracing beverage, generally rum or whiskey, that a
person would have before going out to work in rough weather to
stave off any ill effects. This batch of tunes could be used in
much the same way, and includes some characters who would
probably benefit mightily, if temporarily, from a good
antifogmatic."