The Carpenter
A really good record that, as quite often happens, suffered a lot under the weight of my expectation. I adore The Avett Brothers’ last record, 2009's I and Love and You, so I had probably unreasonable hopes for The Carpenter. When I stop and try and judge it on its own merits, it stands up pretty well. Overall, it’s a rockier/heavier record than I and Love and You, with a significant amount of the beautiful melancholia that defined their previous record replaced with something a bit grander-sounding. Interestingly, the country-folk-rock songs (see e.g., ‘I Never Knew You’, ‘Pretty Girl from Michigan’, ‘Geraldine’) are actually more successful for me than the songs that more closely resemble the introspection of I and Love and You. Probably because I can separate these tracks in my mind and enjoy them for what they are. In terms of the mellower tunes on show, I certainly don’t feel that any of them are ‘bad’. The Avett Brothers have too much quality as a band for that: it’s just that they excelled themselves in this regard last time out. The Carpenter probably objectively deserves a higher placing on the list, but it’s telling that, when in the mood, I’m already reverting to playing its predecessor.