The Avett Brothers: The Second Gleam

By: Dennis Cook

Rife with life lessons and simmering spirit, The Second Gleaming (released July 22 on Ramseur Records), the new EP from The Avett Brothers harnesses the power of the quiet and unleashes it in sauntering acoustic strums and wood smoked crooning. Known to rage and ramble live, this is a glimpse into the pre-dawn conversations of Seth and Scott Avett (sans brother from another mother, bassist Bob Crawford), a series of glowing snapshots of their hearts and ever-pondering minds, their inner Gordon Lightfoots set loose on pure folky stuff.

Unabashedly romantic in places, they also inject soft humor, opening cuts with curveball weirdness like “If I get murdered in the city/ Don’t go revenging in my name.” But the presiding mood is wistful, yearning, intimately true.

I remember crying over you
And I don’t mean a couple of tears and I’m blue
I’m talking collapsing and screaming at the moon
But I’m a better man for having gone through it

What Scott and Seth craft feels enduring from the start; one listen and you know “Tear Down The House,” “The Greatest Sum” and “Souls Like The Wheels” are gonna bounce around inside your life forever. There’s something of The Band and Buddy Holly in the naturalism of their work, a certain unrushed, unprodded rightness. They’ve given us another six-pack to slake our thirst until their next full draft of emotionalism. Trust me, this one goes down easy but it’s got a kick.

The vinyl edition will have two bonus tracks for 8 songs total. The bonus tracks [“Black, Blue” and “The Greatest Sum” (electric)] will also be available if you download the album. The Avett Brothers recently signed a deal with American Records and have recently begun work on their next album, which is being produced by Rick Rubin.

Check out our 2007 interview with the band for more on these roots rock marvels.

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