Their heart’s on their sleeve (and on the charts)

Is 2007 the year of The Avett Brothers? Too early to call, perhaps, but there’s no denying the regional trio’s public profile is undergoing a definite upgrade this year.

Their first tour of Great Britain in February earned them kudos from The Guardian, one of the UK’s best dailies, plus a sell-out in Glasgow, and a new fan in ex-Pulp guitarist/crooner extraordinaire Richard Hawley, who called the band “brilliant” after their Sheffield gig.

The band then played their first Coachella, one of the premier festivals in the States and the unofficial kickoff of the Avetts’ summer festival circuit, which includes their appearance Saturday at the Asheville Music Jamboree.

Soon after came the Avetts’ first national television appearance, prompting the host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien to enthuse afterward that “I could hear that again.”

But just in case you thought the brothers might be pimpin’ their rides or trading in their local cachet for international stardom, forget about it. These boys from Concord (near Charlotte) know where their bread was first buttered, and recently played a series of free, midday in-store shows that set sales and attendance records from Charlotte (300/700 at Manifest Records) to Raleigh (200/250 at Schoolkids Records).

Finally, and most important, there’s the band’s sixth full-length, Emotionalism, which in its first week reached No. 35 on CMJ’s Top 200 charts and No. 37 on the iTunes album charts. The critics’ raves are rolling in, too, with No Depression editor Peter Blackstock already including the record in his 10 best discs … of the decade.

Well, you should be getting the picture. The Avett Brothers are “all groweds up,” if we can paraphrase Vince Vaughn from Swingers. And Emotionalism (recorded at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville from last November to January) is bringing a whole new crowd into the fold. What may please the Avetts most is that their new audience transcends any simple demographic.

“Scott and I basically live our lives and write songs about our lives and what we’ve experienced and thought about, and that’s pretty much it,” says Seth Avett after a recent West Coast swing. “Our songs are readable and they’re very human, and I think that’s why people are able to connect to them in such a visceral, instant way—‘God, I know exactly what you mean.’ That’s something we’re proud to be a part of.”

In fact, it’s that sense of connection that informs the record’s aesthetic. Coinciding with the record’s release, the brothers penned an online manifesto declaring that the unabashed earnestness of Emotionalism is meant as an antidote to the current climate of hipster cool, ironic detachment and defensive ridicule.

“We’re not trying to present our band as a group of motivational speakers or anything,” Seth says with a laugh. “It’s just that it’s too easy to be negative and prey on the weak and the hurt. We don’t like that and we don’t want to foster that. We want to offer up the idea that showing your emotion and showing your heart is the better way to go.”

Anyone familiar with the band’s back catalog or their revival-meeting/mosh-pit live shows knows that their emotions are always front and center; Avett songs sound like love sonnets penned by regular Joes who’ve suffered enough rejection to truly appreciate those rare times when feelings turn out to be mutual. But Emotionalism hones that vision into the band’s most succinct—and polished—statement yet.

Still, the rock ‘n’ roll highway is littered with the good intentions of men and women fundamentally altered—or worse, corrupted—by success. There’s a big difference, after all, between busking street corners and playing to thousands at the sold-out venue around the corner. In that light, you can also see Emotionalism as the band’s own reminder of what all this is supposed to be about in the first place.

“We’ve had to face some realities about what fame meant and all that mess,” Seth admits. “But we learned along the way that the fame wasn’t really the idea at all, but what we’re doing feels like it’s the same thing and the right way to do it. Popularity, that’s just a side effect, and if it comes, all right, and if not, that’ll be all right too.” 

[John Schacht is a Charlotte-based freelancer and regular contributor to Harp magazine.]

The Avett Brothers play the Mountain Xpress stage of the Asheville Music Jamboree on Saturday, June 2, 6:30-8 p.m. The festival runs June 1-3 at Deerfields, south of Asheville in the town of Mills River. More than 25 acts include Michael Franti & Spearhead, the WMD’s (Keller Williams with Keith Moseley, Gibb Droll and Jeff Sipe), Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Donna the Buffalo, Acoustic Syndicate, and Toubab Krewe. Three-day passes are $125 including primitive camping. See www.amjam.net for details.