Earlier in the week, I talked about an over-hyping. Well, let me flip the tables on you. Overhyping can be one of the greatest things in the world. I love getting pleasantly surprised. I mean, who doesn't. Fact of life.
I grew up hating the Avett Brothers. Well, ok, maybe that's stretching it. I didn't hate them, I just looked at them like I would look at a transgendered hobo. I don't know, I just had read a bunch of negative reviews, and I wasn't crazy about the extreme twang-ity of their band. I'm notorious for going with critics. I went into Starsky and Hutch thinking it would be terrible, and it was a hilarious movie. CURSE YOU METACRITIC!
These Avett's have this extreme sense of North Carolina nostalgia in their sound, which is ironic, because they ARE from North Carolina. I know, Itz crazzy. Seth and Scott Avett started playing in a band called Nemo that would book gigs in Greenville, playing some good ole' fashioned rock and roll. However, the rock was not filling in all of the musical holes in these boys hearts. They started meeting regularly with the guitarist in the band, sharing drinks and the occasional song. Eventually, this turned into a regular thing at some bar in Greenville that began to bring in a bit of a crowd. This gathering got thrown onto a cd, and wala. You've got the Avett Brothers. They picked up a professional bassist, and now they are touring all kinds of nooks around the south. They released The Back Door Project in 2000, Country Was in 2002, A Carolina Jubilee in 2003, Mignonete in 2004, The Gleam in 2006, Emotionalism in 2007, The Gleam II in 2008, and finally I and Love and You in 2009. That isn't even including a few live albums. These guys are legit studio workers.
The album opens up dispelling any myths I previously had about his band. The title track is a thoughtful waltz through the meaning of love. The song argues with itself; one verse walloping in how much they loathe love and all of its tribulations, the next verse dreaming about its beauty, ending with a depressing story of the couple in question. The lyrics are beautiful, as well as the music. The piano is moving, coloring a palette of grizzled wisdom with touching quips of beauty. The song emotionally latches on the instant you hear the first of the fiddle. The song is simple, but absolutely great.
The biggest factor that appealed to my new fandom of the Avett's is their ability to stretch their musical talents across vast sounds and styles. While the album's forte is the quieter ballads, there are plenty of great rocking tracks. Somewhere in the middle of the album theres a little folksy adrenaline rush called "Kick Drum Heart". The song blast off with the heavy bass kick that steadies itself throughout the song while and a wild west piano prances around, like Elton John in "Take Me To The Pilot". I really love the metaphor "My heart like a kick drum. My love like a voice." I connect to it.
Ever the musical explorers, the band finds itself in peculiar funk jam on "Tin Man", all the while maintaining the east coast properness about it. It's one of the many songs that involves a keen sense of harmony between the two singers. They work together like a team, boasting the vocals lightyears from where it would be by itself. "Incomplete and Insecure" gives me chill-bumps the harmony is so tight.
If you like to skip to the last part of reviews like I do, this is outstanding folk rock. Appalachian stompin' at its best. The album is mysterious, but there is a distinct happiness floating through it's rough and ragged edges. This is one of the best albums I have heard in a long while. Every song is great; not a single dud. Thanks to these guys, I don't rely on critics nearly as much as I used to, and I am in very grateful to Scott and Seth for that.
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