It's been awhile since I've had such an ambivalent reaction to a new record. Sometimes I think about music too much and that can be a blessing and a curse. In this case, probably the latter. I just can't absorb music in any surface way, especially when it comes to the Avett Brothers. I've got to stay true to myself and give an honest perception. I'm not going to hype music as commodity. I can't and won't do that.
I came to the Avett Brothers late. I'm talking within the past year or so. They'd been on my radar for years. I had read many articles/reviews, even half-assed listened to them a few times. But I just wasn't truly ready for them until an enthusiastic fan gave me the download code to his vinyl copy of Emotionalism, released in 2007. It was then that I surrendered and I grew to love that record, even more so the follow up, 2009's I & Love & You.
You can call their music country, folk, Americana, etc, but I think all of those labels are merely incidental, at least to their sound these days. It describes more the instrumentation than their style of music. I would say the Avetts are foremost a pop band who write love songs, primarily. Yet, it's what they do with those songs that absolutely astounds me, imbuing them with a vulnerability unheard in anything. Lyrically, it's as if they're transcribing an internal dialogue that most people never verbalize. They embrace the totality of life..and death...and the bitter-sweetness of it all. Themes of lonleliness, heartbreak, paranoia all emerge within their songs but not in a morbid way. It's life-affirming. The Avetts are brave souls. The whole thing could just fall into complete sentimental drivel at any moment, yet they still walk the line of brilliance. I've got to admit that there are times when I listen to them that I feel that, as vast as my musical tastes are, I'm venturing into uncharted territory. But, in an age saturated with irony, it's very refreshing to hear something earnest that doesn't feel contrived. It's not something that I can casually listen to any old time, but when I'm in the mood, it's all I want to listen to.
That being said, I've gone to hell and back with The Carpenter. Most of the way through the first listen, I thought it was good, not mind-blowing, but would probably grow on me over time. Then, on the second listen, I thought they were just going through the (e)motions. My impression now, after a week of listening, falls somewhere in between
"The Once and Future Carpenter" is a warm opening track, like an old friend who's returned after a long absence. That line "if I live the life I'm given, I won't be scared to die" comes to the forefront. "Live and Die" is catchy, but more style over substance. With "Winter in My Heart" the music takes a somber, yet more exciting turn. There's plenty of great lines in almost every song; "Febuary Seven" ("And as the last of breath was drawn from me/ the light broke in and brought me to my feet"; "Down with the Shine" ("Things change and get strange with the movement of time/ It's happening , right now, to you"); and "Life"( "Wouldn't it be fine to stand behind the words we say in the best of times?") "Through My Prayers" is the real tearjerker on the record and I'll admit I got misty-eyed. Yet, I feel conflicted about it. Part of me thinks it's great, but then it feels at times like Avetts-by-numbers.
The one truly abhorrent song is "Paul Newman vs. the Demons". First of all, The Avetts have been known to "rock" occasionally. Sometimes that contrast has been awesome and much-needed. But this track was just horribly abysmal and actually made me hostile. It would fit seamlessly in rotation between Seether and Three Days Grace on any modern rock station.. But if you're a fan on those bands, or specifically Incubus, then I'll shut up.
I think my main problem with this album is that the actual music just isn't that interesting to me. I miss the drawn-out, high drama of I & Love & You, where the songs sort of dipped and peaked. I wouldn't say they stripped their sound down, or went backwards. It's like they dulled down the edges. It sounds kind of flat. And for every great lyric line there seems to be a whole lot of word-filler.
. I'm sure a lot of people will disagree with me. Maybe I expected too much. Maybe asking for nothing short of brilliance from the Avetts is unrealistic. Compared to their last two (or 3 or 4) records, a merely good Avetts record feels mediocre. Whatever it is, I think I need to get some distance from The Carpenter for awhile, let it marinate some, then come back to it. Right now, on a scale of 1 to 5, I'll give it a 3. Maybe it will grow on me. I'd like to revisit this record later on in some forum, perhaps at the end of the year, and let you know if my opinion has changed. Meanwhile I'll continue to listen to it when the mood is right. Autumn is slowly unveiling itself, and the Avett Brothers are appropriate for that season.
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