The Avett Brothers. I and Love and You. Mind BLOWN.
I honestly don't know what the cover is a picture of. Or what it means. I think it looks like Severus Snape with his hand cut off and a skull sitting next to him, but something tells me that's not what the Avett Brothers meant for it to mean. *shrug*
I liked them okay before I got this CD, but I think now I'm a full blow Avett fan. I don't know how to describe the Avett Brothers if you've never heard their music before. They're... different. They're a little bit country, a little bit folk rock (but that sounds so stupid and not like something I'd listen to... but it's the best I got). There's a lot of guitar, some piano, some drums, and a little banjo. Yes, banjo. It's kind of hillbilly music. It's just oddly appealing hillbilly music. They're totally not everyone's thing. My friend Holly would hate them. I, however, with my weirdly all-encompassing music tastes, love them. Their lyrics are so deep and I love their imagery. And some of their melody lines are really indescribably pretty.
Anyhow, here's my iTunes review style breakdown of the album (because I like lists...):
1. "I and Love and You"-- Very, very pretty ballad type song about letting go. It's pretty repetitive and seems like it could get old after a while, but it hasn't for me yet. There's lots of piano and acoustic guitar. And the lyrics are gorgeous.
2. "January Wedding"-- Very acousticky mushy song. I don't like this one as much for various reasons. The melody line is pretty but the lyrics aren't as deep as some of the other songs so it's kinda lacking to me. There is however, a line about Audrey Hepburn, which I like. :)
3. "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise"-- This one grew on me. The first time I listened to it I didn't like it very much, but it snuck up on me. It's kinda about broken dreams. I like the imagery of the bird in the cage and demanding that somebody free it.
4. "And It Spread" -- One of my favorite songs on the record. Classic "girl leaves, girl comes back" song. It's kinda bluesy, which I love, and the harmonies rock. Favorite lyric: "You took my hand and held it up/ And shot my arm full of love." I don't know why I like that image so much, but I do.
5. "The Perfect Space"-- Okay, but not my favorite. It's really soft and ballad-ish, and then all of a sudden it's upbeat and the lead's kinda screaming. And then it's back to being soft. It's about wanting to find, well, your perfect space, someplace you fit in perfectly. Good theme, but like I said, not my favorite. I do really like the softest part: "Will you understand/ When I'm too old of a man?/ Will you forget?/ When we paid our debt/ Who did we borrow from?" That melody's really pretty. And I like those lyrics.
6. "Ten Thousand Words"-- Another favorite. It's kinda hard to work out, but I think it's about the power of words and how they affect people for better or worse. Which I like. 'Cause I'm a word nerd. :) The harmonies are gorgeous. They make me want to grab someone and make them sing a duet with me.
7. "Kick Drum Heart" -- This song makes me smile. :) It's very fast and upbeat and it's just about being in love. And it's so cute. Makes me want to dance around my room when nobody else is there. The only part I don't like is toward the middle/end when he screams "My heart like a kick drum." That was a little much. When I sing along, I have to make the heart beat noises too. It's a reflex. :)
8. "Laundry Room"-- Such a pretty melody... it's almost got a lullaby quality to it. I love the bit where he writes all the songs about her and then he says: "Tonight I'll burn the lyrics/ 'Cause every chorus was your name." Ah! Break my heart! Very sad. Very pretty, but very sad.
9. "Ill With Want" -- I'm kinda neutral on this one. Some of the rhymes seemed like they were a little too stretched for, but I love the emphasis on being content with where you are. So I don't know. I'm kinda just "eh" on this one.
10. "Tin Man"-- Yet another favorite. It's about going numb to the world, to the point you don't really feel or care about anything. I love the message contrasted with the upbeat tune. It's really catchy. And I like it. :)
11. "Slight Figure of Speech" -- Another favorite! I really like the beat and the rise and fall of the melody. I'm not entirely sure what it's about, not gonna lie. But I like it. Favorite lyric: "They said 'I hope that you will never change'; I went and cut my hair." I like it simply because I had the impulse to do that exact same thing just 'cause people keep telling me not to... haha. Good song. (And for the record, I don't think I'm going to cut my hair).
12. "It Goes On and On" -- The final favorite. I love the piano and his (I don't know which brother's, I'm not that far in my fandom yet) voice is really gorgeous in the opening. I kinda took it to be about the rollercoaster-ness of love and how you come in and out of it and the cycle "goes on." (See what I did there?) I really love the harmonies on the "it goes on" parts.
13. "Incomplete and Insecure"-- Probably my LEAST favorite. It's just a little too whiney. To give you an idea, the opening lyrics are "I've never finished a thing since I started my life/ I don't feel much like starting now." Just a little too "woe is me, life stinks" for me.
So yeah. That's what I think. :)
It's on Amazon Downloads for five dollars. Go buy it. Really. It's worth it. Or at least go on YouTube and give them a chance. Really.
Wow. My iPod: The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, acapella Christian, Paramore, Yellowcard, Taylor Swift, Sara Bareilles, and now the Avett Brothers...
Am I a freak or what?
<3
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