All Ashore

It's impossible to talk about the Punch Brothers without mentioning Chris Thile. Should anyone still require an introduction to Thile, the description of ‘best mandolin player in the world’ will generally do the trick. However, Thile is also a very accomplished singer and an erudite songwriter – a kind of Elvis Costello of the contemporary bluegrass scene – and All Ashore is another testament to his reflective lyrics and his group's astonishingly complex post-bluegrass contemporary music-making. Listen to ‘Three Dots and a Dash’ to experience the Punch Brothers' instrumental prowess in full flight, and check out the track ‘Just Look at This Mess’ to hear how even Michael Jackson influences can be incorporated into the Brothers' prog-bluegrass chicanery.

Despite the virtuoso instrumentalism and melodic twists and turns contained on this album, there may be an element of over-familiarity here for listeners familiar with the Brothers' (and Thile's) burgeoning back-catalogue. There aren't really any surprises as such: it would be interesting to hear these incredible musicians inject a note of barbarism or impose some self-limitations – perhaps an angry, straight-up punk album would make a good, contrarian next step. Still, you can't argue with tracks as good as ‘Jumbo’, with its big bluesy swing and Trump-protesting swagger.