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Chris Thile & Michael Daves: Sleep with One Eye Open

Nonesuch

New York City’s West Village isn’t quite the folk that mecca it once was, but that didn’t stop Chris Thile and Michael Daves from forging an alliance that, six years later, has spawned this boisterous tribute to their bluegrass roots. Named for the Lester Flatt-penned title cut, Sleep with One Eye Open was tracked to tape in rough-and-ready fashion at Jack White’s Third Man Studios in Nashville, Tenn. and literally crackles with youthful energy. Thile’s breakneck precision on mandolin—familiar to fans of Nickel Creek and his current Punch Brothers band—drives Bill Monroe’s “Rabbit in the Log” and Charlie Monroe’s “Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms,” while Daves shows off his acoustic flat-picking skills on “Little Girl of Mine in Tennessee.” Of course, the two are also gifted singers—melding best on ballads like the traditional dirge “Bury Me Beneath the Willow.” If bluegrass ever needs another revival, this future classic is more than enough to keep the flame lit.