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Rating: Let's start by saying that this band, unfortunately, does not enjoy much success here in Italy. In the United States, on the other hand, especially in recent years, their wild folk rock has been engaging an increasingly large number of people.
After catching the attention of Rick Rubin (a producer of Slayer, SOAD, RHCP, Mr. Johnny Cash, and others), the Avett brothers released three albums in collaboration with him that brought them commercial success:
"I and Love and You" (2009)
"The Carpenter" (2012)
"Magpie and the Dandelion" (2013)
Anyway, let's set aside the more recent works for now and go back a bit in time.
"Four Thieves Gone", the fourth album by the Avett Brothers, recorded in 2005 live in a countryside house in Robbinsville, North Carolina (The Robbinsville Sessions) in just 10 days and released in February 2006.
1. "Talk on Indolence" - 3:39
2. "Pretty Girl from Feltre" - 5:32
3. "Colorshow" - 3:57
4. "Distraction #74" - 2:27
5. "Sixteen in July" - 2:54
6. "Left on Laura, Left on Lisa" - 3:59
7. "A Lover Like You" - 2:34
8. "Pretend Love" - 3:59
9. "Matrimony" - 2:50
10. "The Lowering: A Sad Day in Greenville Town" - 5:03
11. "The Fall" - 3:04
12. "Dancing Daze" - 3:07
13. "Famous Flower of Manhattan" - 3:52
14. "40 East" - 4:38
15. "Gimmeakiss" - 2:13
16. "Denouncing November Blue (Uneasy Writer)" - 3:37
17. "Four Thieves Gone" - 16:09
18. "The Fall" (hidden track) - 5:16
19. "Honeycutt" (hidden track) - 2:08
Members
Scott Avett - Vocals, banjo, bass drum, harmonica, guitar, piano, drums.
Seth Avett - Vocals, guitar, hi-hat, piano, drums, various percussion.
Bob Crawford - Backing vocals, double bass, electric bass, violin.
"Well I've been lockin' myself up in my house for sometime now
Readin' and writin' and readin' and thinkin'
and searching for reasons and missing the seasons.
The Autumn, the Spring, the Summer, the snow.
The record will stop and the record will go.
Latches latched the windows down,
the dog coming in and the dog going out.
Up with caffeine and down with a shot.
Constantly worried about what I've got.
Distracting my work but I can't make a stop
and my confidence on and my confidence off.
And I sink to the bottom and rise to the top
and I think to myself that I do this a lot.
World outside just goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes...
and witness it all from the blinds of my window.
THREE, FOUR.."
"Talk on Indolence" doesn't give the listener even a moment to settle in and explodes into an unexpected sung/rapped monologue.
The strained voice is that of Scott Avett (banjo and guitar).
The short "monologue" ends on the "THREE, FOUR.." from Seth Avett, this is where the album begins.
The first track continues assertively as a sort of "anthem of the melancholic misfit" (read the full lyrics) in the strings of banjo, guitar, and double bass accompanied by clapping hands and tapping on the wood of the instruments.
"Talk on Indolence", being the piece that perhaps more than any other allows the Avett brothers and their associates to unleash their energy in every way, has been used for nearly 10 years to close every band concert.
After this adrenaline-pumping introduction, Scott and Seth take 5 minutes and 33 seconds to recover.
"Pretty Girl From Feltre" begins with perfect vocal harmonizations typical of the two brothers and proceeds smoothly without hiccups.
As we continue listening, we come across tracks like "Distraction #74", "Left on Lisa, Left on Laura" and "The Fall" where the entire folk spirit of the trio emerges, not so much in the studio versions but during the live performances where every verse is pushed to the extreme.
Other notable tracks are "The Lowering (A Sad Day in Greenvilletown)", "Famous Flower of Manhattan" and the energetic "Denouncing November Blue (Uneasy Writer)".
Despite the pleasantness and energy that the listening conveys, the album, in my opinion, MUST be analyzed also considering the live performances.
This is where the tracks go from interesting and enjoyable to epic.
Starting from the already mentioned "Talk on Indolence", during the live renditions the album reaches incredible levels.
It's almost impossible to remain impassive in front of a show where the Folk Rock is pushed to the limit, among dozens of strings that snap and instruments that need to be changed multiple times during a performance because they become unusable, headbanging, crowd surfing, and, often, brilliant improvisations inserted within the lyrics.
Watching the Avett Brothers perform on stage means watching someone who loves what they do and, most importantly, knows how to do it really well, and this is also demonstrated in the studio version of this album, a pure and simple album.
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 Colorshow (03:59)
Be loud let your colors show
Try to keep the madness low
If they hear and it's wrong
And they come with torches on
Yeah come on
Be loud let your colors show
Try to keep the madness low
I tell them no with my hands
Make them understand the plan of it
Bright and gone
And I'm done forever
It's you and me forever
Cause I'm done forever
It's you and me forever
Be loud let the others know
First a whisper then it grows
I tell them go with my hands
Make them understand the last of it
Yeah come on, pain and all
Leave out pack your things and go
Leave the baby makers home
There's a time (now) and a place (now)
Someone built to take the race
When it calls you go head down
Head down don't you make a sound
Keep your plans all to yourself
They'll come true they follow you
They're what you're obligated to
Don't you listen to nobody else
And I'm done forever
It's you and me forever
Cause I'm done forever
See it's you and me forever
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