The Second Gleam – The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers are my current favorite Carolinan Folk-Rock band. Their latest album, I and Love and You, was released in September. You can check out a great review of it, over at my good friend Josh Hurst’s blog, The Hurst Review. I’ll be looking at their 2008 EP, The Second Gleam.

I’m fairly new to the Avetts but so far this had been my favorite of their recordings. The opening track “Tear Down the House” is a great song that is much more solemn than it’s name might suggest. It shows off the Avetts gift with lyrics, “I remember crying over you, and I don’t mean like a couple of tears and I’m blue. I’m talking about collapsing and screaming at the moon, but I’m a better man for having gone through it.” Next comes “Murder In The City” which may be my favorite Avett Brothers song. It’s a great tune about family and why they matter most. It features some great vocal harmonies.

“Bella Donna” is more simple, yet just as beautiful as every other song on this album. It has a great guitar part that interludes between some of the verses. “The Greatest Sum” is one of the album’s weaker track but is still really good. “St. Josephs” is another stellar track that paints a wonderful picture of a young couple and their struggles with hardships that are survived only through their love for one another, or at least that’s my take on it. The final track “Souls Like Wheels” is a pretty good, not their best but the fact that it’s on this record put it very high up in my opinion. It’s a pretty good track on a great record.

The Second Gleam is nearly flawless. It’s certainly possesses very few flaws. It’s highpoints are “St. Josephs,” “Bella Donna,” “Murder In The City,” and “Tear Down the House.” Four out of six songs on the album I’d rate at a solid 10 if I was using that sort of system, however I’ll leave you instead with this: If you give the guys a listen and you’re even remotely interested, pick this up, it’s outstanding.

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