Punch Brothers played songs from their forthcoming album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, at Bush Hall in London last night. The Guardian calls it "an exciting, wildly original set," giving it four stars. Chris Thile "provided acrobatic, sometimes fragile vocals and virtuoso mandolin work, with intricate changes of direction that were perfectly matched by his colleagues." The Times of London gives it a perfect five stars, exclaiming: "Brilliant, audacious, original and, above all, entertaining; Punch Brothers put on a show that pushed the boundaries of excellence in contemporary music performance in virtually all directions."
Punch Brothers played songs from their forthcoming Nonesuch release, Who's Feeling Young Now?, in a headlining show at Bush Hall in London last night that ended with a finale featuring Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. The show comes between sold-out shows supporting Amos Lee in Amsterdam earlier in the week and in Paris tonight, as well as a Celtic Connections double bill with Carolina Chocolate Drops in Glasgow tomorrow and a return to London for a show with Lee on Sunday. The Guardian calls last night's Bush Hall concert " an exciting, wildly original set," giving it four stars.
"The hall was packed and the crowd were yelling as if they were awaiting a boy band," reports the Guardian's Robin Denselow, but the band "made it clear from the opening songs that this would be no conventional concert ... [T]hey veered rapidly from country influences to edgy acoustic pop that included lyrical passages, tight harmony vocals and a stomping rock chorus line, but then suddenly slowed down and eased into a quiet, jazzy burst of controlled discord, before the melodies kicked in again."
Denselow, who notes that the band is "playing a key role in the new American acoustic movement," reports that at last night's show, Chris Thile "provided acrobatic, sometimes fragile vocals and virtuoso mandolin work, with intricate changes of direction that were perfectly matched by his colleagues."
Read the complete concert review at guardian.co.uk.
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"Brilliant, audacious, original and, above all, entertaining," exclaims the Times of London's David Sinclair in a perfect five-star review. "Punch Brothers put on a show that pushed the boundaries of excellence in contemporary music performance in virtually all directions."
Sinclair too notes the genre-bending reach of the band and their skills as both virtuoso musicians and an unbeatable group.
"They were superlative players and singers," he writes. "Thile’s incredible sorties on the mandolin, which he dispatched with many an heroic flourish, were matched by the solo contributions of the others. Yet for all their skill as individuals it was their cohesion as a group that most impressed."
To read the complete review, Times subscribers can go to thetimes.co.uk.
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Following their remaining UK shows this weekend, Punch Brothers return to the States to launch their US tour next weekend. For details, go to nonesuch.com/on-tour.
To pre-order Who's Feeling Young Now?, head to the Nonesuch Store for an instant download of the album's opening track, "Movement and Location," and an exclusive set of custom Punch Brothers paper coasters illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Matthew Diffee, signed by the band. Orders also include high-quality, 320 kbps MP3s of the album available starting release day.
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