The Avett Brothers"The Second Gleam EP"
2008 Ramseur Records
Grade: A+
Career GPA (based on buyer ratings from Amazon.com): 4.0
By: Brent Owen
I'm not sure how The Avett Brothers do it - they make beautiful, irresistible songs that are so achingly personal that you can't help but feel uncomfortable as you squirm in your seat. On the second in the band’s “Gleam Series” of EP’s - there are only six songs but the brothers make every note count. What stands out initially here is that there seems to be a lingering darkness throughout all of the entire collection. But the band wades perfectly through these sparse arrangements by playing their own brand well-honed roots music.
The opening song “Tear Down the House” is an absolutely beautiful piece that takes the listener by surprise. It’s almost alarming as you listen to this kind voice with almost detached glee at his lack of sentimentality. The way he can be so callous but so serene in regards to his own indifference gives the song a palpable tension you might not expect.
By far the darkest of the songs is “Murder in the City”. Lyrically it’s almost a will and testament, giving his family instructions as to what to do upon his death. It’s not so much an alarming suicide note as it is a reflection on one’s own mortality. The last lines of the song are piercing as he leaves the family with these parting words: “And always remember there was nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name.”
If you liked The Avett Brothers’ breakthrough album Emotionalism – then you will love these songs, as the band endears itself to you even more. You won’t find them to be as much fun but more sobering then the last time around, but you’ll still hear the group’s irresistible charm and revel in the morbid direction they have taken here. And if you aren’t familiar with this bluegrass/folk outfit, then you’ll probably appreciate these songs also – but you have to keep in mind that they aren’t always this miserable.
Previous Albums:
Emotionalism
The Gleam
Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions
Live, Vol. 2
Mignonette
A
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