North Carolina’s Avett Brothers consisting of two actual brothers (Scott and Seth) along with fellow bandmates have been around for almost two decades now, and each album becomes more musically accomplished than the last. The San Francisco Chronicle described them as having the “heavy sadness of Townes Van Zandt, the light pop concision of Buddy Holly, the tuneful jangle of the Beatles, the raw energy of the Ramones.” And if that is not an advert for a band, I don’t know what is. The lyrics of this particular track from their ‘True Sadness’ album: “I lay here pretending to sleep. Someone’s always asking for something of me. I try to hide but I’m stripped of my strength” just soar with elegance. It’s a work of beauty.
