I’m going to see The Avett Brothers open for John Mayer in August. I’m really looking forward to it, should be a completely awesome show. Over the last 4 months or so, The Avett Brothers have become one of my favorite bands. I have worked my way through most of their albums now, and they are all excellent. It’s hard to rank them as albums, because I love them all. But what I figured I could do was rank the top 7 or 8 songs ON the albums. This just means that, in my opinion, some songs are superior to others within the context of that album. I’m not going to rank every song on every album, just my personal favorites. And I’m only going to do the 3 full-length albums they’ve done most recently (I’m not including The Gleam or The Second Gleam, and I haven’t heard Mignonette or A Carolina Jubilee yet), in chronological order. Here we go.
Four Thieves Gone:
1.A Lover Like You
2.Colorshow
3.The Lowering (A Sad Day in Greenvilletown)
4.Matrimony
5.Pretend Love
6.Left on Laura, Left on Lisa
7.Distraction #74
8.Famous Flower of Manhattan
9.Pretty Girl From Feltre
10.The Fall
–This is the only one of their albums where I prefer the more upbeat songs to the slower stuff, although both are excellent. Probably their best record front to back, it is the longest and most complete.
Emotionalism:
1.The Ballad of Love and Hate
2.Salina
3.Die Die Die
4.Paranoia in B Major
5.Weight of Lies
6.All My Mistakes
7.Shame
8.Will You Return
9.Go To Sleep
–I’ve possibly listened to this the most, because Noah always asks to listen to The Avett Brothers…but particularly Die Die Die.
I and Love and You
1.Ill With Want
2.The Perfect Space
3.I and Love and You
4.And It Spread
5.January Wedding
6.Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
7.Laundry Room
8.Tin Man
–This is probably my favorite of the 3, because I heard it first, and I think their two most beautiful songs are #1,3 from this list.
I’m still waiting to find the other two albums, plus their live stuff. But at this rate, The Avett Brothers will be my favorite band in a matter of months. Just superb.
