… as i was driving up to deerfield for work today and listening to the dodos’ time to die, i thought about how awesome it would be if bravo could stage some sort of top percussionist contest. of course this works for guitarists, but, let’s face it, drummers bring out far more of the animalistic emotions in all of us, even those who usually don’t care about music. which makes for better tv.
the first two drummers i pick are (don’t know their names) the rural alberta advantage guy and the dodos guy. i have seen both, and both make you want to quit your job and go buy a drum kit.

Well, Pride, I have to disagree. I consider myself an Avett devotee and I don’t think they’ll be compared to Ben’s Fold or The Fray – not pop enough. Sure, this is more accessible than past records and the guys trimmed/shaved their beards, but the soul of the music is completely in tact and the songwriting is 100% Avett.

I think Rubin does an amazing job of NOT polishing up their sound too much. I listened to Emotionalism and I And Love And You back to back and was struck by how they seemed to flow together, as I said in my review, as different chapters of a novel.

If you’d draw any comparisons, I think Kings of Leon would come to mind. But Avett didn’t go that far.

I don’t know who is to blame, or praise, for this change; regardless if it’s the Avett’s or Rubin, I foresee the Avetts becoming a household name. Once we had the Brothers covering Woody Guthrie, Bob Willis, and Townes Van Zandt, and now I don’t think those songs will fly to their audience that will no doubt be comprised of thousands of screaming 13 year old girls, frat brothers hoods, and first dates. I foresee the Avetts being clumped in with the likes of The Fray and Ben Folds, and wouldn’t be surprised if one of these songs made its way on to a Drew Barrymore movie during some sort of New York City lovers montage right before the credits roll. I’m not saying this is bad, I’m just saying it’s different. Most people will say something to the effect of “Yeah I know the album is pretty radio friendly and low key, but its goanna be the live shows where you really are going to be able to experience the energy and passion of the Avett Brothers” and I would tend to agree, but that is only if you can get enough money to purchase your thousand dollar tickets before they sell out Madison Square Garden in twelve seconds.

“I & Love & You” is a brilliant record, it will for sure be a hit to fans old and new alike, it will make them no small amount of money, and will for sure be on my personal top 5 albums of the year; but in terms of musical let downs it is the biggest one I’ve had in 10 years. There was a time that I loved the Avett Brothers and I felt connected with them and like I was a part of what they did, if they had a cult I would have been like the chief evangelist and apologist for them, but with the release of “I & Love & You” I think I am growing luke-warm and might even apostatize (I heard that Eliiott Brood has a good one coming out, I think Ill have to check it out). Well Im off to watch the Avett Brothers perform on David Letterman, I wonder if the Jonas Brothers will come out and do like a dual brother combo, that would be pretty cool if Rick Rubin could hook that up!