My Amazon Reviews: Avett Brothers "Magpie And The Dandelion"

Peace, Love and Banjos
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Barely a year after releasing the acclaimed "The Carpenter," The Avett Brothers make a quick turnaround and issue "Magpie and The Dandelion." Along with producer Rick Rubin, The Avetts have mastered a style of folk-rock that many other bands of this ilk are just trying to grasp. Other than Mumford and Sons, The Avett Brothers have no one else that even come close to matching their own kind of American Roots rock, which makes it all the more interesting that Mumford and Sons are Irish, while the brothers hail from North Carolina.

That's not the only difference. Where the Mumfords typically strive for the bombastic crescendo, the Avetts deal in a more gentle style. Piano melodies intermingle with the banjos, and they have long ago learned that a silence can speak more than an amp turned up to 11. They're also not as preachy, even if the music speaks to universal love and faith. They sing of having an "Open Ended Life" and delicately contemplate "Souls With Wheels" (a live version of the song originally from the EP "The Second Gleam"). Sometimes doubt creeps in, like the long distance affair "Apart From Me," where Scott and Seth Avett question if they can keep love alive while out on the road. Same with "Skin and Bones," but this time with more spunk.

If I have any grumps about "Magpie And The Dandelion," it's that there doesn't seem to be much of a growth in the band. The songs here sound like they were very good, but not so good as to end up on "The Carpenter." Why else tease everyone with an older live song in the middle than to be a song or two short of a totally new album? But then, you'll hear the piano copping from The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" on the midtempo ballad "Good To You," and you can forgive them the lateral move. Also, as previously stated, no other band can keep up with the new folk movement the way The Avett Brothers do. If you prefer, think of "Magpie" and "The Carpenter" as a double album. Play them in tandem. Together, they're a delight, and even with my few misgivings, "Magpie and The Dandelion" is an excellent album.

     

My Amazon Reviews: The Lumineers

Light My Way
4 Out Of 5 Stars

The Lumineers debut album rides the folk-rock wave currently being popularized by the likes of The Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons. But unlike either of those two bands, whom I love, The Lumineers eschew polish and production for a defiantly low-fi souns and a great dependence on "Ho Hey" choruses. To that extreme, their calling card is that title. A hook filled sing-along called simply "Ho Hey."

The Lumineers are heavily dependent of catchy choruses and chants that a footballer could love. At the same time, they know the pain of loss resonates well in this sort of context, as "Stubborn Love" exhorts "The opposite of love is indifference." This trio can do both the depth and the easy and filter between the two with ease. Lead singer Wesley Schultz holds is own with the Avetts and Mumfords for the rootsy delivery, and can even claim Denver CO as their home.

These are the kind of songs that do a barn-stomper proud. Made for beer chugging and glass slamming ala "Ho Hey" and other irresistible choruses. Step back in time with "Flapper Girl" or "Charlie Boy," or get a little deeper with "Slow It Down." Get past the hollow sound (like I said, this is a low-fi production) and you'll find a lot to enjoy with The Lumineers.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Avett Brothers "The Carpenter"

Epic Avetts
4 Out Of 5 Stars

I was lucky enough to catch the Avett Brothers live at the 50th Newport Folk Festival, where they were previewing songs from the forthcoming "I and Love and You." I was immediately taken by their range and scope, as well as their impact as a band. I thought I&L&U was one of the best albums of the year, and it's taken them since 2009 to create this follow-up. "The Carpenter" takes those intense, acute moments of the last album and gives them a glossier sound without losing any of the emotional wallop. In fact, if the longing and sadness of "A Father's First Spring" doesn't tug your heartstrings, you're reading the wrong review.

The Avett Brothers are into making epic music. There's not as much bombast here as there is on, say, Mumford and Sons' "Babel," and "The Carpenter" might be better for it. "Live and Die" plucks Scott Avett's banjo while swinging on a sing-along chorus. They also make great use of their harmony singing, with an almost doo-wop go at "Pretty Girl From Michigan" (the latest in a series of "Pretty Girl..." songs) or the oddly rocking "Paul Newman Vs The Demons." (The most unsubtle song here, and proof that these men have no issues with their eccentricities.)

The meat of the album remains the brothers' folk-band style, the stuff that got them and Mumford and Sons behind Bob Dylan. Rick Rubin adds the polish but doesn't make things run outside the album's limits. You can get "Down With The Shine," take a roll on the 90 second "Geraldine" or wax philosophical on the title song, but you'll never miss out on some tasty licks and lyrics. I don't feel "The Carpenter" quite measures up to the previous album, however, you'll not walk away dissatisfied. If you're one of the trendy folkies that snapped up "Babel" the first week out, "The Carpenter" should be in your playlist, too.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Mumford and Sons "Babel"

God and Bombast
4 Out of 5 Stars

Mumford And Sons have given music a much needed kick in the butt by proving you don't need to be a synthed out dance band to sell to a big audience. It's helped bands like Avett Brothers, Trampled by Turtles and more reach a wider listener-ship and helped reestablish Americana and roots music in the USA. And that's a good thing in my mind. "Babel" is their second full length CD, and it follows the slow-burn success of "Sigh No More," as well as finding the band in a tough situation. How do you appease this new found audience who look upon you as the newest and next big thing without disappointing them?

In response, "Babel" loads up on the bombast and the religion. Think U2 with banjos, with the bulk of the songs also having a soft/loud/soft/explode variety of songwriting that owes as much to grunge than folk-rock. There's way too much "Jesus saved me" here for my tastes, yet the disc overall is pretty darn great. There's a lot of soul in Marcus Mumford's voice and he's happy to pour it on with all the force he can muster (the title track) or in longing ("I Will Wait")or cries for salvation ("Whispers in The Dark"). As the band rises and swells behind him, Mumford's voice carries the emotional wallop of the lyrics he's penned with ease. Add some otherworldly harmonies and you have the makings for greatness.

There isn't much subtlety in that manner of music making, but the emphasis here is on the rock part of Folk-Rock. There's a hunger for this kind of honesty in music and "Babel" gives sustenance.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Dawes "Nothing is Wrong"

Everything is Right
4 Out Of 5 Stars

Landing somewhere between the Avett Brothers and The Eagles, Dawes resurrect the old San Fernando Valley mellow rock of Jackson Browne (who is something of a patron to the band) circa 1976. In fact, you'll be able to close your eyes and imagine Browne's doppelganger at the microphone while you listen to "Nothing is Wrong." The songs are excellently crafted with harmonies out of the CSN&Y playbook, all about loves lost, missing or yearned for. The woman with "a tragic set of charms" is even reinforced even by the song's title, "Time Spent In Los Angeles."

"Nothing is Wrong" has plenty of these kind of hooky folk-pop laments, and Browne lends a harmony to "Fire Away." They even let that Eagles bar band moment loose when the guitars go to jet-speed in "My Way Back Home." Lead singer Taylor Goldsmith has the valley-Bohemian croon down (his brother Griffin also sings, his harmonies spark "How far We've Come") to the point where you almost expect Linda Ronstadt to pop in. If you're missing the kind of Cali-Rock that takes its California Dreaming via the Hotel California, you'll love the finery of Dawes.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Mumford and Sons "Sigh No More"

Breathe Deep  
5 Out of 5 Stars

"Sigh No More" is the 2010 equivalent of 2009's album from The Avett Brothers, "I and Love and You." Mumford and Sons create the same kind of modern, heartfelt and forceful folk-rock as the Avetts, and "Sigh No More" is a tightly spun collection that has not a duff song in its dozen numbers. It's easily this year's best folk album and a contender for one of the best of the year overall.

While the four members aren't actually family, they harmonize like they were born for it. Marcus Mumford, the chief songwriter, gives them actual poetry to work with, which is rare enough in popular culture, and even a rarer find throughout a full album. The first time I heard "Little Lion Man," I was floored by its brutal tear down of a man too petty and vindictive to realize he is only poisoning himself.

"Tremble little lion man,
you'll never settle for any of your scores
your grace is wasted in your face,
your boldness stands alone among the wreck.
Learn from your mother
or else spend your days biting your own neck."

That was it for me; thanks to Pandora I was sold on the spot. There are plenty of other diamond moments on "Sigh No More," like the angry "White Blank Page" and the waltz-time "Awake My Soul." There's plenty of temptation to compare Mumford and Sons to a host of other bands besides the Avett Brothers, but that would do both groups a disservice. This album stands alone just splendidly.