for the record Avett Brothers

Author: Emily Temple

I am not a fan of country. I don't like it at all, not even the watered-down-for-the-common-man versions. Even most bluegrass can grate on me, and such was my experience when I first heard the Avett Brothers. I guess it was "saw" as much as "heard."

Two summers ago, I ran every day on the treadmill in my basement, self-motivating with the carrot-on-a-stick television my dad had installed. I would get up early just to be able to run to the music videos on MTV - the ones they stopped playing around ten in the morning. To be honest, I was getting kind of tired of Justin Timberlake and Kanye. Anyway, I came across an issue of Paste Magazine advertising a supplementary DVD with lots of music videos on it, and immediately snapped it up. The next morning, I proudly popped in the new disc and pressed "play all." I'm running along when this live performance set up appears on the screen, and three gentlemen step on stage in alarmingly dusty clothes, their hair just barely controlled by red bandanas. And here's the worst thing - one's got a banjo. And a harmonica. "Oh no," I think, "country."

But then they start playing and everything changes. Now, this is music to keep me pumped and running. It's rock and roll, it's bluegrass, it's ragtime, it's good. But then, they start screaming and somehow, it's so much better. Suddenly they've infused this song, "Nothing Short of Thankful" from their album Mignonette, with just the right amount of what I guess I can only call punk. It turned my head right around. The Avett Brothers have since been fairly aptly labeled "grungegrass," but I myself always describe them simply as "alt-country, but with screaming."

The band, which released its first full-length album, Country Was in 2002, is actually comprised of only two brothers, Scott and Seth Avett, and their friend, Bob Crawford, all hailing from Concord, N.C. Scott and Seth created The Avett Brothers from the remains of their previous band, Nemo, a more rock-based project. Legend has it that the brothers started playing around with bluegrass and country riffs on their back porch, drinking mama's sweet peach lemonade, and eventually recorded a demo which led to a real-live record deal.

Their newest album, Emotionalism, will appear in stores May 15 as a solid achievement and a welcome addition to their surprisingly wide collection. For me, the earlier Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions is still the pinnacle of their talent - it's more rock heavy and energetic than some of the others - but Emotionalism holds its own with a few standout tracks and just overall quality. Most of their albums do that. You finish listening and want to just squeeze it in your hand. They're just solidly good. Different and original, but not "experimental" or "post" anything.

In addition to their original take on bluegrass, the Avett Brothers woo with lyrics that range from sweet to, surprisingly, kind of harsh. Their song "Pretend Love," off Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions is an intricate banjo-fingerpicked ballad, with lilting, forlorn harmonic vocals that would almost be at home in a 50s slow dance.

Their lyrics come full circle, however. Many of them are extremely heartfelt, and Scott has been noted to say that his favorite parts of concerts are moments when the crowd grows silent to really listen. These boys are trying to tell us something. At the risk of sounding hokey, it's something about freedom, and it's something about love. Anyway, all I know is that the Avett Brothers are giving us something much different than just about anything else around right now. But as the brothers might say, "starting a little revolution isn't too much to hope for. Right?"