Throwing Quarters: The Avett Brothers | I And Love And You
“I can tell all the people that all of the success is a direct reflection on me.”
“She keeps it simple and I am thankful for her kind of lovin’ ‘cause it’s simple,” sings Seth Avett of The Avett Brothers. He could just as well have been singing about himself and the music he and his brother Scott choose to make: simple tunes. Part folk, part country, no city. Scott and Seth play songs that take us back to simpler times. It’s quaint and honest relying on storytelling and personal lyrics and there is no sight of skyscrapers and city lights for miles.
Even in the titular song the call to Brooklyn resonates as a dream that is far and away. Consequently the tunes depend on their ability to impart a universal aesthetic in their lyric. The success or failure of their latest album I And Love And You can best be judged by how well The Avett Brothers use their words to transcend the mundane world to which “simpler” music can fall subject. As Scott is so aware in “Slight Figure Of Speech” – a track discussing the relationship between honesty in art and the business of music – “A slight figure of speech. I cut my chest wide open. They come and watch us bleed. Is it art like I was hoping now?”
The struggle between art and money is nothing new. All “working” artists at some point must grapple with…
