Album: The Punch Brothers, Antifogmatic (Nonesuch)

A second album by the drumless ensemble which does for bluegrass what Monteverdi did for Renaissance polyphony, leading to an undiscovered dimension in which new kinds of thoughts might be expressed.

It is by no means a generic listen and that's why it's so good. Chris Thile's singing is neither as virtuosic nor as charismatic as his mandolin playing, but the songs are consistently intriguing in their crazily formalist arrangements. Try it. A tinkling, twinkling challenge to the ear but a coolly fascinating one.