Punchline

iTunes Review

In relentlessly eclectic fashion, Boulder Acoustic Society stitches together a weirdly mixed array of styles on 2009’s Punchline. The Colorado-based quartet has continued to stray further from conventional folk boundaries over the years, embracing a sound at once old-fashioned and progressive. Scott McCormick’s jittery yet tender-hearted vocals and whimsical songwriting keep Punchline’s tone offbeat and on edge. He smartly leads the band through the furious crypto-political number “Give It Away” and conducts a Celtic drinking party/group therapy session for “Burn the Pity of Our Past.” Gypsy jazz and klezmer elements spice up the twitchy “Slip Baby Slip” and the charming “Frog Pajama Waltz.” BAS doesn’t mind indulging in comedy, as the inebriated honky-tonk tune “I Feel Like I’ve Seen You Before” shows. But the group achieves its best moments with expressive ballads like “Take My Hand” or wistful road anthems like “Until Then.” McCormick’s liquid accordion, his brother Scott’s supple upright bass and Aaron Keim’s keening fiddle give the proceedings a distinctive character.