By Sarah Hough
When I was young, my family had a number of traditions curated by my parents so that they could continue to enjoy the things they love. One of those traditions was that after church on Sundays, we would go home and my father would cook eggs while we listened to bluegrass on the radio. I remember driving home in the car from my church and hearing my father say, "Who is excited for bluegrass?" I always answered, "Me!" mostly because I felt I was supposed to, but whether by my father's design or my own inclination towards it, I love bluegrass as an adult.
The thing that I value most about the music style is how it often focuses on domestic narratives while discussing universal ideas and struggles. Punch Brothers have always done an impressive job of keeping up this tradition, and I find myself recognizing that, though I may not experience life the same way as these men, we share some of the same inner struggles and frustrations with our world.
Punch Brothers faced a challenge in writing their newest album, All Ashore. As banjoist Noam Pikelny put it, "The current political and cultural situation in this country really contrasts with anything the five of us have experienced in our lifetimes." They succeeded in creating an album that handles the personal feelings of dread that many Millennials (and other generations) are feeling in today's political, social, and economic climate while staying true to the traditions of bluegrass music.
The album starts as domestic as it can get with "All Ashore" -- a song about a mother and father both coping in their own ways. They are both aware of a "clock ticking" and a "wolf loitering at the door" -- feelings of dread in a society full of unrest. The father expresses a sentiment that I think resonates with most Americans right now. We were promised from a young age an American Dream; and, though we are closer than when we started, most of us struggle to achieve it.
This theme continues in "Angel of Doubt." The song struck me as particularly Millennial because it proudly confirms all that is said about the generation by critics. Yes Millennials are vain, but it is because they are "striving after wind" while dealing with the high expectations of family members, lovers, and older generations to be achievers while never seeing the fruits of their labor. By the end of the song, it has begun to creep towards the highly political nature of the latter part of the album. "Angel of Doubt" addresses the feelings of resentment and frustration many have about working hard and never getting any further in life, not being able to maintain romantic relationships, and the constant consumerism we face while trying to fill the void we feel within ourselves.
The next two songs after "Three Dots and Dash" offer a place to put the blame for these feelings. Both "Just Look at This Mess" and "Jumbo" can be seen as openly political protest songs. "Just Look at This Mess" tells the story of a power hungry man making a mess, cheating and stealing, and mocking those who oppose him all while we stare in disbelief. The story feels disappointingly familiar but manages to avoid the usual tropes people fall into while criticizing those in power.
"Jumbo" tells a similar story of a man made by privilege who claims to have "grown up strong on the fat of the land of the free." However, by the end, it feels much more urgent than the previous song. It calls for the elite to "fuck off Capitol Hill," wonders what has been "rigged," and grows tired of children who want the same opportunity as Jumbo not being able to come to America, and we, the American people, try to detect exactly how corrupt our leaders are. Still, these songs manage never to feel like they're leaving our own backyards. Punch Brothers utilize imagery so ingrained in America that it continues to feel domestic as they start to talk about the bigger picture -- sandlots, gumbo, Instagram, and the classic sounds of banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and bass.
The album begins to offer solutions and hope for all the corruption, disappointment, and injustice in the next three lyrical songs. "The Gardener" returns to a familial setting with a parent singing about their garden and, symbolically, their child -- using a gardener as both a metaphor for a parent and a future sign of success for a child. After the instrumental, "Junglebird," Punch Brothers continue their hopeful train of thought. "It's All Part of the Plan" offers the most simple of truths after the singer defeats a devil and feels freedom. "The struggle is fake. The triumph is real." Any struggle can be forgotten and pushed away as long as those who are oppressed triumph over it, and this is definitely a song for the oppressed. It challenges the law in order to maintain morality. The final verse in particular of "It's All Part of the Plan" offers a way to recognize the unjust and immoral in the world. It offers the same answer that has been given to human beings for ages by wise people from Pope Francis to Gandhi to Nelson Mandela. We must love one another in order to empathize with those who struggle the most against tyranny and injustice. "Love… like it's going out of style."
I had the pleasure of seeing Punch Brothers live at Philadelphia's Union Transfer on July 23rd, just four days after All Ashore was released. Coincidentally, Mike Pence was also in Philadelphia that day, and I got to see firsthand that Punch Brothers are a band who put their money where their mouth is. A voter registration table was set up at the venue. As I prepared myself for the concert, I imagined my father's voice in my head saying, "Who is excited for bluegrass?" I wanted to cry out, "Me!" because I really am excited. I am excited to put into practice the perspective given by this album and to see a change in our struggling society.
All Ashore is out now on Nonesuch Records.
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