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Now playing: I and Love and You

I was a bit surprised upon hearing the new album from The Avett Brothers, I and Love and You. The “Beatles of bluegrass” seemed to be bit less bluegrass and a bit more pop than they been have before. The banjo, acoustic guitar and bass are all still there, but the piano provides the dominant sound on this new release. And the result is a bit different, but outstanding nonetheless.

I first heard The Avett Brothers a couple of years ago upon the release of their last full length album, the excellent Emotionalism. I’ve since downloaded a couple of EP’s (Gleam and The Second Gleam), which were also very, very good. So, I had high expectations for this new release.

There are a handful of songs here that would seem at home on previous albums (“January Wedding” and “Laundry Room” come to mind first), but as I mentioned, this album is largely driven by the piano. From upbeat pop songs like “Slight Figure of Speech” and “Kick Drum Heart”, to ballads like “Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise”, “Ill With Want” and the title track, to the aforementioned songs with their more predictable sound, this is a great album all the way through.

When you have to follow an album like Emotionalism, you’re more than likely going to fail to meet expectations. In a sense, The Avett Brothers did just that, but they did it by reinventing themselves. It was not the album that was expected from these guys, yet it is a terrific album. I highly recommend checking it out.

Here is the title track and “Laundry Room”:

-gf