Antifogmatic

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Punch Brothers' second album showcases the growing collaborative power of this virtuosic, genre-blurring combo. "Antifogmatic brims with color, wit, flash and tenderness," says the Wall Street Journal, "all conveyed with remarkable musicianship and high spirits." The quintet honed these songs over impromptu sessions at New York's The Living Room, then recorded them live at LA's Ocean Way studio with producer Jon Brion. 

Description

Punch Brothers return with their second album, Antifogmatic, June 15, 2010, on Nonesuch. The record is the follow-up to the band’s highly praised 2008 debut, Punch, which The New Yorker calls “wide-ranging and restlessly imaginative.” 

Punch Brothers’ line-up includes some of the most impressive and widely respected musicians performing today: Chris Eldridge (guitar), Paul Kowert (bass), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Thile (mandolin and lead vocals), and Gabe Witcher (fiddle). The Boston Globe says of the band, “[T]his top shelf acoustic quintet is a virtuosic revelation,” while the Chicago Tribune says, “[T]heir breathtaking virtuosity isn’t about soloing but complex ensemble unity, with a cumulative power that leaves the listener pleasantly rung out.”

Produced by Jon Brion (Brad Mehldau, Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, Kanye West), Antifogmatic was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood during the winter of 2009–2010. While Punch was focused around Thile’s four-movement composition The Blind Leaving the Blind, Antifogmatic’s ten songs were written collaboratively by the band. Of the process, Witcher explains, “We knew we needed a producer equally as well versed in pop and rock as in instrumental music, and I don’t think there is anyone more able to capture and communicate the essence of this material than Jon Brion.”

Antifogmatic is named after a type of 19th-century alcoholic drink that was meant as a cure for the effects of fog and other inclement weather. Of choosing the title, Thile notes, “'Antifogmatic' is an old term for a bracing beverage, generally rum or whiskey, that a person would have before going out to work in rough weather to stave off any ill effects. This batch of tunes could be used in much the same way, and includes some characters who would probably benefit mightily, if temporarily, from a good antifogmatic.”

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Jon Brion
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered November 2009–February 2010 at Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA
Engineered by Greg Koller and Jon Brion
Mixed by Greg Koller, Jon Brion, and Gabe Witcher
Additional Editing: Eric Cadieux
Mastered by Alan Yoshida

Art Direction: Evan Gaffney
Illustration: Brett Ryder
Photography: C. Taylor Crothers

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Noam Pikelny appears courtesy of Compass Records.

Chris Thile uses Elixir strings and Blue Chip picks
Chris Eldridge uses John Pearse Strings, Blue Chip Picks, and Karura Cases
Gabe Witcher uses Evah Pirazzi Pirastro Strings
Noam Pikelny endorses GHS Strings

Nonesuch Selection Number

521980

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Punch Brothers
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Chris Thile, mandolin, lead vocals
Chris Eldridge, guitar, vocals
Paul Kowert, bass, vocals
Noam Pikelny, banjo, vocals
Gabe Witcher, fiddle, vocals

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
UPC
075597980578BUN
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597980554
Label
LP+MP3
Price
17.00
UPC
075597944600
  • 521980

Track Listing

News & Reviews

  • Chris Thile has announced his inaugural Acousticamp to take place July 30–August 3 at Glen Cove Mansion in Glen Cove, New York. For the four-day event, he and his fellow instructor/collaborators—including several Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek band mates—will explore the width and breadth of acoustic music practice, performance, and composition, anchored by but not limited to string band instruments and vernacular singing, buoyed by coffee and cocktails, all bookended by intimate concerts from Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers.

  • Punch Brothers recently concluded a US tour with Béla Fleck’s My Bluegrass Heart featuring Sierra Hull. You can now watch a holiday medley from their December 15 Indianapolis show—including “The Chipmunk Song,” “Sleigh Ride,” and letters to Santa—here. Punch Brothers' latest album, Hell on Church Street, a reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album Church Street Blues, has been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

  • About This Album

    Punch Brothers return with their second album, Antifogmatic, June 15, 2010, on Nonesuch. The record is the follow-up to the band’s highly praised 2008 debut, Punch, which The New Yorker calls “wide-ranging and restlessly imaginative.” 

    Punch Brothers’ line-up includes some of the most impressive and widely respected musicians performing today: Chris Eldridge (guitar), Paul Kowert (bass), Noam Pikelny (banjo), Chris Thile (mandolin and lead vocals), and Gabe Witcher (fiddle). The Boston Globe says of the band, “[T]his top shelf acoustic quintet is a virtuosic revelation,” while the Chicago Tribune says, “[T]heir breathtaking virtuosity isn’t about soloing but complex ensemble unity, with a cumulative power that leaves the listener pleasantly rung out.”

    Produced by Jon Brion (Brad Mehldau, Fiona Apple, Elliott Smith, Kanye West), Antifogmatic was recorded, mixed, and mastered at Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood during the winter of 2009–2010. While Punch was focused around Thile’s four-movement composition The Blind Leaving the Blind, Antifogmatic’s ten songs were written collaboratively by the band. Of the process, Witcher explains, “We knew we needed a producer equally as well versed in pop and rock as in instrumental music, and I don’t think there is anyone more able to capture and communicate the essence of this material than Jon Brion.”

    Antifogmatic is named after a type of 19th-century alcoholic drink that was meant as a cure for the effects of fog and other inclement weather. Of choosing the title, Thile notes, “'Antifogmatic' is an old term for a bracing beverage, generally rum or whiskey, that a person would have before going out to work in rough weather to stave off any ill effects. This batch of tunes could be used in much the same way, and includes some characters who would probably benefit mightily, if temporarily, from a good antifogmatic.”

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Chris Thile, mandolin, lead vocals
    Chris Eldridge, guitar, vocals
    Paul Kowert, bass, vocals
    Noam Pikelny, banjo, vocals
    Gabe Witcher, fiddle, vocals

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Jon Brion
    Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered November 2009–February 2010 at Ocean Way Studios, Hollywood, CA
    Engineered by Greg Koller and Jon Brion
    Mixed by Greg Koller, Jon Brion, and Gabe Witcher
    Additional Editing: Eric Cadieux
    Mastered by Alan Yoshida

    Art Direction: Evan Gaffney
    Illustration: Brett Ryder
    Photography: C. Taylor Crothers

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

    Noam Pikelny appears courtesy of Compass Records.

    Chris Thile uses Elixir strings and Blue Chip picks
    Chris Eldridge uses John Pearse Strings, Blue Chip Picks, and Karura Cases
    Gabe Witcher uses Evah Pirazzi Pirastro Strings
    Noam Pikelny endorses GHS Strings