Pages tagged “chris thile”

When Nickel Creek said farewell (for now) to fans and disbanded in 2007, each member said they wanted to pursue solo projects. Vocalist and mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile went off to work with his group the Punch Brothers, where he recently composed a four-part, 40-minute suite entitled "The Blind Leaving the Blind" that features mandolin, violin, banjo, guitar and bass. Singer/violinist Sara Watkins is prepping her long-in-the-making solo album (due in early 2009), produced by Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones and featuring guests Jon Brion and Gillian Welch.

Best known as one-third of Nickel Creek, Chris Thile is a mandolin prodigy who recorded his first album when he was only 13 years old. On How to Grow a Woman from the Ground, Thile moves with unsurprising confidence from bluegrass to jazz to classical arrangements, but he shows much less mastery over his pop compositions. “Stay Away” showcases a startlingly graceful melody, but his cover of The White Stripes’ “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” comes off as mere novelty, the title track sounds too abstract and aimless, and—the name says it all—“You’re an Angel, and I’m Gonna Cry” is way too sappy. 

As a member of the progressive bluegrass outfit Nickel Creek, Chris Thile helped win the band remarkable crossover success. Mutual Admiration Society — a recent side project with Toad The Wet Sprocket’s Glen Philips — found Thile dabbling further in rock ’n’ roll. For his latest solo effort, he steps up to the mic, offering songs cast in an ambitious array of styles, while lyrically exploring insecurity, faith and heartache. Aside from two instrumentals (the melancholic “Waltz For Dewayne Pomeroy” and the freewheeling “Jessamyn’s Reel”), Thile sings throughout, venturing into guitar-driven rock on “Empire Falls” and moody chamber pop on “This Is All Real.” The quirky meter and blank verse of “The Wrong Idea” underscores the song’s conflicting emotional loyalties, further emphasized by a shift from string-laden dolor to impassioned power chords. “On Ice” is a particular standout, with a snaking mandolin figure that steadily tumbles toward the singer’s doubtful assertion of “I feel fine!” While he occasionally strays into self-conscious posing (the awkward, jazzy stutter-time of “Locking Doors”), the album remains surprisingly cohesive, considering its stylistic ambition.