The Avett Brothers
A Carolina Jubilee
North Carolina’s Avett Brothers play acoustic music that has roots in traditional folk and bluegrass, but also captures the high spirits and no-boundaries attitude of rock & roll, which is appropriate, since rock is where Scott Avett and Seth Avett cut their teeth as musicians. While siblings Scott (vocals and banjo) and Seth (vocals and guitar) started making music together as kids, their group’s genesis begins when they were members of a rock band called Nemo, which gigged regularly in Greenville, NC. Looking for another outlet for their musical ideas, the Avetts began getting together with likeminded friends (most notably Nemo guitarist John Twomey) on Tuesdays for acoustic guitar pulls, where they’d share a few drinks and swap songs. As time passed, the weekly get-together (which was called "the Back Door Project" or "Nemo Downstairs") became a semi-public event, with the pickers busking for the enjoyment of passers-by, and Seth and Scott felt the new acoustic music they were making was as fun and satisfying as their rock band.
In 2000, Twomey and the Avetts decided to document their side project, and "the Back Door Project" was renamed the Avett Brothers with the release of a self-titled album in 2000. In the fall of that year, Nemo broke up, and Seth and Scott decided to make the Avett Brothers their new priority. They amicably parted ways with Twomey and added upright bassist and vocalist Bob Crawford to the combo, and after a few months of playing live shows, the new trio recorded its second album, Country Was, in early 2002. The band hit the road upon the album’s release that summer, and used the opportunity to break in material for their next studio project, A Carolina Jubilee, which was released in 2003. (A live disc, Live at the Double Door Inn, was sandwiched between the two studio sets.)
Over the next several years, the Avett Brothers maintained a busy and prolific schedule, releasing a lengthy and ambitious studio album, Mignonette, in 2004, another live disc in 2005, and both a full-length album (Four Thieves Gone: The Robinsville Sessions) and an EP (The Gleam) in 2006, all recorded during breaks in the group’s heavy touring calendar. As if this weren’t enough to keep the three men occupied, Crawford also records and performs with his side project New Jersey Transient, Seth Avett has released albums under the moniker Darling, and Seth and Scott occasionally play out with their electric band Oh What a Nightmare. (by Mark Deming on AllMusic.com.)
1 The Traveling Song 3:29
2 Love Like the Movies 3:30
3 Sorry Man 4:46
4 Me and God 4:22
5 Pretty Girl from Raleigh 2:25
6 Do You Love Him 3:05
7 I Killed Sally’s Lover 2:39
8 Pretty Girl from Locust 4:35
9 My Last Song to Jenny 2:29
10 Walking for You 3:30
11 The D Bag Rag 2:23
12 Pretty Girl from Annapolis 3:29
13 Smoke in Our Lights 5:42
14 Offering 4:15
15 8:07
(Review by Todd Kristel on AllMusic.com.)
The Avett Brothers play a mixture of country, folk, and bluegrass with an infectious sense of enthusiasm. Their performances sometimes sound unpolished, and occasionally sound off-key, but they put so much spirit into their music that the imperfections are engaging instead of off-putting. They usually sound like they’re really into their songs, whether they’re hollering and stomping their feet, or taking a moment to reflect on life. Their lyrics generally ain’t bad, either, and the Avett Brothers are particularly adept at expressing good-natured skepticism, whether they’re rejecting the need for a middleman between themselves and God without disrespecting preachers ("Me and God"), or noting the differences between movie romance and loving someone in real life ("Now in the movies they make it look so perfect/And in the background they’re always playin’ the right song/And in the ending there’s always a resolution/But real life is more than just two hours long"). "Love Like the Movies" also includes the sound of a film projector (or something that resembles it), which serves as another reminder that just because the Avett Brothers love old-time music doesn’t mean they do everything by the book. So whether they’re performing a song about a "Pretty Girl from Raleigh," a "Pretty Girl from Locust," or "Pretty Girl from Annapolis," (if they were the Beach Boys, they probably would have recorded a song for each city in California), they’re worth a listen.