Here’s how genre-defying Americana punks The Avett Brothers play: Hammer away at the banjo and guitar. Stomp the hell out of a kick drum and crescendo into screaming. Then, within minutes, play a disarmingly honest ballad about family, love or loss. Make people cry.
The North Carolina outfit has been making records like this since 2000, but I and Love and You (produced by Rick Rubin) is the band’s first major-label offering and possibly its best album yet. Rubin’s given the Avetts more polish, yet the songs still emanate wisdom and playfulness — even the pop ones. The vulnerability of the anthemic piano-ballad title track (about “three words that became hard to say”) sets the tone for the ballads and guitar-and-banjo celebrations that follow.
You could try to label the songs any number of ways — folk rock, country punk, bluegrass pop, whatever — but really, I and Love and You is all heart.
Comments: 3
chissy n wrote:
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 3:42am Report Abuse
Jeremy Klaszus wrote:
on Oct 3rd, 2009 at 10:15pm Report Abuse
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on Oct 7th, 2009 at 8:51am Report Abuse
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