Album Review: The Avett Brothers, True Sadness

When Scott and Seth Avett first unleashed their blend of folksy Americana on the world 16 years ago, they were raw, but their songs carried real emotion. This, their ninth album may come from the same place, and there are moments that are truly affecting, but overall, it sounds too polished.

It's almost as if it's been orchestrated like a business plan, with a checklist of the elements needed to lift them to the next commercial level, adding layers of strings, for example, when none were necessary. Sometimes, a song's empty spaces are its most effective. When they keep things simple, like on the acoustic "No Hard Feelings", the intertwining guitar and banjo of "I Wish I Was" and the hauntingly beautiful "Fisher Road To Hollywood", they can still melt hearts. In contrast, the electo-pop of "You Are Mine" and the gospel-influenced "Ain't No Man" are polished to within an inch of their lives.

The string-soaked country pastiche of "Mama I Don't Believe" is too heavy on the Hallmark, "Divorce Separation Blues" does exactly what it says on the tin, while the mid-paced "Smithsonian" sees the brothers imparting a list of blindingly obvious life lessons as if they are sharing the wisdom of Solomon: "Call the Smithsonian, I made a discovery/ Life ain't forever and lunch isn't free/ Loved ones will break your heart with or without you/ Turns out we don't get to know everything." The country rawk of "Satan Pulls The Strings" comes complete with bolted-on synths and slam-funk basslines: if the devil really has all the best tunes, he's going to want a refund on this one. Unfortunately, it's not even the worst song here. That dubious honour goes to the title-track, where the brothers come on like an evangelical self-help group, preaching "Just know the kingdom of god is within you/ Even though the battle is bound to continue." Oh how the once mighty have fallen.