Listening to the Punch Brothers is an exercise in wonder. How do they do that? Where did that come from? What's that reference? Is that Debussy? Is that The Beach Boys? Is that bluegrass, blues, jazz, classical, rock? Who cares because that tune's just beautiful . . . and the playing and harmonies are breathtaking. And yet it all fits, maybe not seamlessly, but with such energy and invention that reservations wilt in the warmth of the music's embrace. Mandolinist Chris Thile heads the five-piece, but everyone plays their part, not least Gabe Witcher (fiddle/violin) and Noam Pikelny (banjo). This is their fourth album and takes as its theme the loneliness of the modern world. Familiarity, all 10-plus minutes of it, kicks things off with fevered adventure full of strange shapes and subtle shades. It sets the tone, if not the style, for the remaining 10 tracks. Enjoy.

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