The Punch Brothers - Punch

At the conclusion of The Blind Leaving the Blind, the 40-minute, four-movement suite that is the heart of Punch Brothers' debut album, —composer-singer-mandolin player Chris Thile conjures up the image of a heartbroken young man nursing his psychic wounds at a bar with his friends.

In real life, the 26-year old Thile, who was recovering from his own tattered marriage as he developed the piece, along with coming to terms with the demise of Nickel Creek, took a more constructive approach, joining four of his own musical buddies to form a kind of super group/support group.

Punch the band did visit some bars along the way, but, more importantly, over the course of two years, these performers helped Thile to realise the most conceptually daring, emotionally cathartic work of an already impressive career.

The line-up of Punch Brothers is formidable, and a Washington Post critic recently said Thile 'may well be the most virtuosic American ever to play the mandolin.'

• Punch Bowl
• The Blind Leaving the Blind: 1st Movement
• The Blind Leaving the Blind: 2nd Movement
• The Blind Leaving the Blind: 3rd Movement
• The Blind Leaving the Blind: 4th Movement
• Sometimes
• Nothing, Then
• It'll Happen