Avett Brothers - The Carpenter

Avett Brothers have teamed up once again with legendary producer and label exec Rick Rubin for The Carpenter, an album that Scott Avett says represents a "much purer approach" to the band's Americana and folk roots than their 2009 breakout album I and Love and You. The Carpenter is also both broader and deeper in sound and vision, tackling themes of life and death (bassist Bob Crawford's daughter, was diagnosed with brain cancer last year) while balancing the heavy ("Through My Prayers"), with a nimble playfulness on "Pretty Girl From Michigan" and boisterous, blink-and-you-missed-it "Geraldine". No wonder Scott refers to the album as "joyful and more painful in some ways." The most potent ingredient in the Avett's mix remains the stark acoustic power of loose-limbed tracks like "February 7", a thoughtful song that carries its soul-searching reflection lightly and without pretense.

Avett Brothers - "February 7" (from The Carpenter)

Avett Brothers - "Live and Die" (from The Carpenter)