As one might have expected for an album by my favorite band that was released exactly one week ago⌠I have now listened to The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers a few times. Here are my thoughts on each track.
âNew Bike:â Such a good first single. Now that the CD has been living in my car, I am constantly getting this one stuck in my head and have been dancing to it even when itâs not playing (which probably looks very strange to the people who see me at work, grooving behind the desk to music thatâs only playing in my head). I love that Brittany pretty much leads the way with her fiddle part, and I really love those quick mandolin strums that Chris plays at the end- it reminds me of the ending of âAttaboyâ from the Goat Rodeo Sessions. Itâs also really fun how the band keeps transitioning back into the A-section, and every time it gets more intense (and they raise the key!). I keep expecting to hear Chris going âha!â during one particular part of the song, like he does in the official video, but then it wouldnât be âunsungâŚâ I also LOVE being able to hear what I think is the sound of Brittanyâs bow tapping against the wood of her fiddle. The song feels so alive thanks to little tidbits like that.
âporthole/Found in a Frozen Fog:â I honestly donât think that the transitions needed to be listed and named as separate tracks, but whatever. It is SO cool how the âbreathingâ sounds that Paul and Brittany start making at the end of âNew Bikeâ sound like someone panting and trying to catch their breath after a bike ride, but as soon as âFound in a Frozen Fogâ begins, they sound more like a person panting while running for shelter through a wintery wasteland. Although Critterâs part is very minimalistic, it is SO cool to hear him take center stage throughout this songâs A-section. Paulâs bowed bass solo is SICK AF, and the major key resolve that immediately follows the brief pause towards the end of the song is starting to become just as sublime to me as the entrance of the major chord and the fiddle arpeggios on the âI love youâ part in âFamiliarity.â This is probably my favorite track from the album.
âSolve Knut (untied):â I donât really have a ton of thoughts on this one, other than being happy to hear Brittany take the lead again, and that the intro/A-section (?) is so beautiful. Also, the ending is so abrupt and I really dislike that⌠So far, itâs the track that has made the least impression on me, but I do enjoy it.
âLe Ruisseau:â I LOVE THIS TRACK SO MUCH. After seeing Punch Brothers play this track at the Ossipee Valley Music Festival, it became the track that I was the most excited to hear again when I got the album. The soaring melody that Brittany and Paul play together at the beginning of the song reminds me of a few other pieces/songs: âWhen You Believeâ from The Prince of Egypt, the main theme from Star Wars, and the main theme from Cinema Paradiso. So⌠in short, itâs very cinematic! It also feels very old-school-Disney-esque, in a way. All that from a very brief intro to a song⌠Thereâs also a part later in the song that reminds me of Sufjan Stevensâ piece that closes his Illinoise album (I think itâs called âOut of Egypt, Into the Great Laugh of Mankind, and I Shake the Dirt From My Sandals as I Run.â Which was a title that always reminded me of The Prince of Egypt⌠so weâve come full circle!). Finally, the chords during that âthickâ part where the whole band is strumming/sustaining together remind me of the chords for Pinch Brothersâ own âMissy.â With all that said⌠itâs very funny that the sole inspiration was apparently La Mer by Debussy! Iâm guessing all of the compositions I named were in some way inspired by Debussy, then. đ Anyway, âLe Ruisseauâ is so beautiful and my only problem with it is that it, too, ends too abruptly.
âSaturn: Pogo Ball of the Gods:â Finally, itâs out and I can type the title into Spotify like Chris Thile suggested I do when I saw Punch Brothers play last year! (Long story. Also, I canât actually do that because I donât have a Spotify account.) The contrasts in this piece are insane, between the very thick, full, wall-of-sound part and the minimalistic groovy part. Iâm obsessed with what Paul is doing on bass- that weird dissonance has such a menacing, off-kilter tone that I love- and itâs always a pleasure to hear those random mandolin twangs and knocking sounds that Chris loves to throw in when heâs soloing. This is one of the weirdest tracks on Unsung, which is absolutely a good thing. <3
âSong of the Water Kelpie (unsung):â I love the groove in this arrangement (itâs fun to dance to, as I did when they played it at Ossipee), and itâs so cool how the band members are (mostly) paired up to double or harmonize with each other- Paul with Brittany and Chris with Noam, then later the two Chrises together. Speaking of Noam, his banjo playing goes HARD towards the end of the song with all those sixteenth notes.
âJune Apple (poisoned):â The other song I was most excited to hear on the album, and it absolutely takes the cake for weirdest track on the album. This is Noamâs time to shine, and I love how heâs playing anything that remotely resembles a melody while the rest of the band is playing anything but. Paul and Brittany sound SO good harmonized together. I donât exactly love the way the mandolin & guitar drumming ends up dominating the song (itâs hard for me to really sink into the groove of the song because of that), but I really like how Critter gets to play a more rhythmic part. (Although, am I hearing things, or did they overdub Chrisâ melodic part over his drumming like halfway through the song? It sounds to me like he and Critter are still playing together, but that is definitely mandolin that I hear taking over on the plucked melodic parts⌠Seems weird for them to do that.) Oh- did I mention the foot-stomping on this one and on âSaturn?â Because I LOVE THE FOOT-STOMPING!! I love that it made it onto a Punch Brothers album!!
âportal/Descend, O Diamondback!:â This was the track that I skipped the most whenever I would listen to my playlist of ECMH Songs of the Week, because it was a LITTLE too weird for my taste- but after I saw it live for the first time in Richmond, I had it stuck in my head all the way home. Having it transition from the previous track was a great idea, as the opening bass notes are always such a pleasant surprise to me when Iâm listening to the album. The groovy part is easily my favorite part of the song⌠itâs another one thatâs unexpectedly great to dance to. But there are so many parts to this song in general, itâs so cool how diverse it is⌠Iâm not sure I have much more to say about the song- I just love it now (and I really love its title. Probably my favorite title on the album).
âNew Book:â This one just makes me happy. It reminds me of how Chrisâ album (but really Punch Brothersâ album) How to Grow a Woman From the Ground ends with the tortured, intense âIâm Your If You Want Meâ and then is followed by the joyous âThe Eleventh Reel.â Much like how this album ends with the slightly disturbing âDescend, O Diamondback!â and then is followed by the happy âNew Book.â I sort of miss Chrisâ harmony singing that he did when the piece debuted on ECMH, but then it wouldnât be unsung, now would it? Much like the piece that precedes it, âNew Bookâ is full is contrasting parts and I love how it keeps the listener interested. Again, I donât have much to say about this one either⌠but I think if I listen to the album a few more times, Iâll have plenty to say about both of the songs that close it.
So⌠I really like the album. Iâm just so happy that itâs all original material and not a covers album like Hell On Church Street. Iâm so happy about it that I couldnât care less that there are no vocals. In fact, the lack of vocals actually makes the album better for me, because it doesnât single out Chris as the bandleader. Obviously, the only reason the band exists is because of Chris Thile, and he seems to be the driving compositional force, but Iâm starting to get a little tired of the other band members not being referenced as much. This album gives them all their individual turns to shine, and reinforces the idea that Punch Brothers IS a band, and they are ALL incredible virtuosos, and they ARE equal. As an additional note⌠is ANYONE else making music that sounds remotely like this album? Because I want to hear it, if so. Especially if itâs in the string band/folk/bluegrass world (but I suspect Iâll have to do some digging through the jazz and avant garde world to get anywhere close to whatâs on this record).
