I've written about The Avett Brothers before, but they just released a great new live album that merits revisiting their work--and it's making me regret having missed their recent show in L.A. Their alt-country sound is often referred to as "punkgrass," given the intense energy level of their songs. They've even got me withstanding the infernal banjo. And it's not all country-ish. Some of their songs have the rock flavor of fellow North Carolinian Ben Folds.
But it's the plain and powerful emotion of their ballads that really grabs me, especially "Murder In the City." Perhaps this is their nod to the murder ballad genre that was once common in American popular music, but it's a bit of a mystery why Scott Avett would be singing such a darkly-themed song that is obviously somewhat autobiographical. I can't stop listening to this song, and I defy you to keep a dry eye when you give it a listen.
(FYI--this version is from another live recording of theirs; for you PC users, I'm trying to not make downloads available from new recordings.)
Never listened to this song... simple and so powerful. Simply beautiful.
I'm a little bit better for having read this post... thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Kitty | October 14, 2010 at 09:21 PM
So fun article is! I know more from it.
Posted by: Belstaff Jackets UK | March 07, 2012 at 11:29 AM