The Carpenter

The Avett Brothers have become one of my favorite Indie bands of the last decade. Their hybrid musical venues are varied, but you get quite an injection of styles and influences. From their banjo strumming bluegrass to their upbeat alternative gems, they are a continually rising and prospering band to be reckoned with.One of their achille's heels has been their penchant for pensive, melodic songs, which often sound like dirges of pop music. While entirely sincere there renditions of music reminding as from the pen of Roudin's sculpture with his chin in his hand and the heavy sighing of a man who's had too many beers to drown out his sorrows.On their truly excellent album 'Emotionalism' (my personal favorite), they have wonderfully upbeat, quirky songs such as "Die, Die, Die," their classic "Paranoia in B Major," and a great rousing trio of romantic songs, "Will You Return," "Pretty Girl from San Diego," and "Pretty Girl from Chile". Now those of you who know 'The Gleam' e.p.'s and the slow songs from 'Emotionalism' may agree with me that when they're pensive, they certainly round out the mood and consistently channel their emotions, but they don't give us their best songs. Only "Shame" articulately digs for treasure in the sad song repertoire of the Avett Brothers.'The Carpenter' changes all of that. Not only are the fast songs invigorating, but the slower songs are melodic and exquisitely phrased. There isn't a bad track here. Particularly, the Beatlesque "Live and Die," "A Father's First Spring," and the masterpiece "Winter in My Heart" demonstrate a slow-tempo strain of songs that, if any thing, is better than the progressive numbers.But don't be fooled by AM readiness of this collection. Just when songs like the appealing "Live and Die" come to the forefront, then they counter this approach with the idiosyncratic (and worthwhile) "Paul Newman Vs. The Demons".The variety of 'The Carpenter' and the breadth of tempos and musicianship are expert like no time before or since. While 'You and I and Love' state a good case to bring The Avetts into the top of the charts, 'The Carpenter' has the musical and lyrical finesse to scotch all other achievements for a band that seems to have just gotten started.

The eclectic mix of genres, instruments, and styles displayed by The Avett Brothers in their first album, "I and Love and You", is again prominent in "The Carpenter", their second release. Unlike some other's offerings of different perspectives in a field that has come to be called "Americana", The Avett Brothers' blend of folk, country, bluegrass, rock, pop, the kitchen sink, you-name-it, continues to remain fresh and uniquely their own. Attempts by others to develop their own signature sound beyond a single album have often become repetitive remakes of their initial issue (Mumford & Sons?) and consequently lose much of their popular appeal.Without engaging in a wordy dissection of each track from "The Carpenter", I'll close by saying that if you enjoyed their first album, it's very likely you'll take pleasure in #2. If you're unfamiliar with The Avett Brothers, you won't suffer by acquiring one of their releases instead of the other. The quality remains high throughout.

I love it, play it often, tell people about it and it's just been a breath of fresh air for new music. I first learned about the Avett Brothers by watching Paladia on high definition TV. The video I'd seen was just great (Live and Die), what a turn on! My first Avett Brothers purchase was "The Carpenter" and also bought "I and Love and You" and Live Vol 3. These guys are great and I surely hope to see them touring up into New England someday! Recent video on paladia was Crossroads with Randy Travis (yeah he's recovered) and the show was great, so much musical talent! Anyways, looking forward to getting caught up on some of the other previously released CD's. Definitely satisfied with my purchase at Amazon, the product price, the auto-rip to the cloud and the responsive shipping process!

So, I fell in love with the Avett Bros. about 3 years ago. It started with "I and Love and You" on the radio, which piqued my interest, but I didn't do anything with it. Then my brother, who incidentally is the person who seems to introduce me to most of my favorite music (Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Phish, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, DMB. etc., etc.), had to have heart surgery and while we were there in the hospital, his wife kept talking about the Avett Bros. and how much Cory loved them. It was only after I dug into it that I realized this was the same band, so I promptly went out and bought "I and Love and You". Now, I know for many fans, that album was a bit of a let down. Too polished, over-produced; a departure from the raw, invigorating sound that was the Avett's I would come to know through the Gleam albums and Emotionalism. However, I thought "I and Love and You", while polished, was still a great album with beautiful lyrics and real emotion.Now comes "The Carpenter"; yet again produced by Rick Rubin - polished, clean, pretty, almost poppy. On some level you had to expect it. Bands, like the people they are comprised of, change, mature and grow in directions that their fans don't always follow (I don't remember the last time I bought a DMB album, for instance, but that doesn't mean I don't love their old stuff still). This album is a little more mellow, and has the distinctive finger print of the talented Mr. Rubin on it. Part of me really yearns for a return to Emotionalism's unfiltered feeling. The sound that your ear instinctively knew said, "Hey, this is us, mistakes and all and it's part of what makes us great."That said, I can't really knock the album too much. With exception to the Banjo (MORE BANJO! I miss it terribly! One song? One??? Come, on guys!), the core sound of Avett Bros. is still there - the lyrics are meaningful, the melodies are new but familiar in nature, the band is tight and the harmonies are wonderful as always (though I wish Scott's voice were in the lead a little more often). The first 9 tracks are generally very good. The album sort of peters out in the last three tracks. Paul Newman vs. the Demons is a throw-away song, if you ask me. I am totally in love with the first two tracks, "The Once and Future Carpenter" and "Live and Die" (mostly because it's the banjo song, not because it's "the single" that is being pushed right now). "I Never Knew You" is a fun romp with the energy you would expect from Avett Bros. (I can't wait to hear it live). "February Seven" may end up being my favorite song ultimately - it really hits a chord. "Through My Prayers" sometimes seems a little cliche, but it is still heartfelt and frankly brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it (it also has Oboe in it, which is awesome). "Down With the Shine" is a personal favorite as well and "A Father's First Spring", while not their best effort ever, really touched a chord as I am a father of an 11 month old daughter and "my heart is now ruined for the rest of all times" as well.Their best album, no. A great album, yes. Next time, though, I hope they go a little more lo-fi and bring back the darn BANJO. MORE BANJO!!!P.S. - Mr. Kwon, you rock, sir. You. Rock.

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Happy with my purchase

Different people will like different albums of the avetts. It's a very subjective thing.. For me, this album is their best. I have also bought Mignonette and I and love and you. Why they are not better known and appreciated defeats me. It seems anyone can sell a bad album nowadays as long as they behave badly enough and make up for their lack of talent by posturing and appealing to a vast enough bunch of losers! However, if you have real talent and can make beautiful music but cannot behave like a moron then nobody will notice you. Sad, isn't it! It is not often that I find myself listening to songs that can make me cry, but the Avetts accomplish this for me quite easily. Superb lyrics, great instrumentation, exquisite melodies, everything is here. I'll just have to make sure the tears don't blind me as I drive along, listening to them on the car cd player.

Not as polished as I And Love And You...but finds a perfect balance of the old Avetts and the new. Best record of the year. Highlights are...well...the whole thing! A Father's First Spring tugs at the heart strings - amazing vocal and beautifully done. Live And Die is also a great track. It's lyrically brilliant and played to perfection. A perfect, well crafted and delivered record by these super talented brothers.

Vorab: Ich besitze die LP und den Download, nicht die CD.Die LP ist top, der Download in gewohnt guter Amazon Qualität!Was soll man groß dazu sagen... Die Avett Brothers sind einfach eine grandiose Band!Das Album unterscheidet sich meiner Meinung nach ein wenig von den direkten Vorgängern, weil es ein bisschen "glatter" produziert ist, was aber überhaupt nicht am perfekten Gesamtbild kratzt.Von sehr ruhig über ruhig bis laut, alle Facetten der Avetts sind vertreten. Wer die Gelegenheit hat sich die Band mal live anzusehen --------> NUTZT SIE! Die Lieder sind live noch besser als auf der CD/LP und Avett Brothers Konzerte setzen neue Maßstäbe für alle anderen Bands der Welt! Vertraut mir, ihr werdet einen Konzertabend bei den Avetts niemehr vergessen!Meine Favoriten?-Naja, eigentlich hör ich die CD sehr gerne komplett durch, aber es haben sich die Songs "Through my Prayers", "Down with the shine" und "February Seven" als meine Favoriten herauskristallisiert, natürlich kommt es aber auch immer ein wenig auf die aktuelle Gemütslage an, welche Lieder man bevorzugt hört! "Through my Prayers" rührt definitiv zu Tränen und "Live and Die" animiert mit seinem eingängigen Refrain auf jeden Fall zum mitsingen und besitzt Ohrwurmpotenzial! Genau DAS macht mMn. genau den Reiz dieses Albums aus: Es lässt Platz für Emotionen jeglicher Art!Für die Musiker unter euch: Man kann von den zwei Brüdern einiges lernen, ob Gitarre oder Banjo, die Avetts sind sehr gute, "handgemachte" Musiker und zeigen das auch wieder auf diesem Album!Zum oft angestrebten Vergleich mit Mumford&Sons:Die zwei Bands sind sich genauso ähnlich wie Oettinger und Bier, nämlich überhaupt nicht!Beide Bands haben ihre Vorzüge und ihren speziellen, eigenen Stil! Es ist Geschmackssache, welcher Band man den Vortritt lässt ;)Es ist nicht zu überhören, dass die Avetts aus der Bluegrass Ecke kommen und Mumford&Sons eher den britischen Folk Pop/Rock vertreten. Die Avetts sind "ländlicher" angehaucht und wirken auf mich persönlich traditioneller.Bitte nicht falsch verstehen, beide Bands sind großartig, aber für meinen Geschmack sind die Avett Brothers vom Sound her vielseitiger als M&S.Ich bin schon gespannt, was man noch so von den Jungs hören wird :)