Avvett Brothers’ debut simple, great and genuine

By Kathryn Beaty

The Avett Brothers

I and Love and You

Sony

Rocks like:Bon Iver, Wilco and Dr. Dog

Many… The Avett Brothers

I and Love and You

Sony

Rocks like:Bon Iver, Wilco and Dr. Dog

Many talented bands boast of members who call one another brothers — see Kings of Leon and The Felice Brothers. The Avett Brothers proves that there’s more than enough room for one more band of brotherly love with its major label debut, I and Love and You.

The band takes traditional bluegrass, adds some moonshine and creates a hard-edged folk sound with a rock ’n’ roll energy that leaves a warm feeling in the bloodstream.

The album’s lyrics are poetic in their simple, genuine approach to universal stories with a fresh perspective on trite situations that can be seen even in the title I and Love and You.

The band worked toward a quiet maturity on this album that comforts and gives the feeling that the brothers have lived the music.

I and Love and You is an album where each song tells one integral part to a complete story. In this case, it’s the story of love and what it means to live a simple, humble life in this world. One of the best-crafted and most enjoyable albums of the year, this music is for anyone who likes his lemonade hard and his bluegrass harder.