Magpie And The Dandelion (studio album) by The Avett Brothers

From buzzdainer 01/22/2018 00:08

The Avett Brothers have always been guilty of a certain amount of shallow, hokey romanticism, as shown by the number of tracks they've recorded with titles following the formula "Pretty Girl from _____." While this is a rare Avett Brothers album that has no such song titles, there is a fair amount of cheesiness here. That's to be expected, I suppose. What keeps me coming back to the Avett Brothers are those moments when their earnest sentiments transcend their schmaltz. For me the moment on Magpie and the Dandelion that comes closest to this kind of transcendence comes in "Another Is Waiting," when they try to move past evaluating women strictly according to their looks: "She's a rose, she's a queen / But she's staring at a magazine / In the dark, on that path / Where they doctor every photograph."

From paladisiac 12/20/2013 16:50

Here's another americana-influenced album from the avett brothers. Gone are the days when they had an edge as heard in songs like "die die die" , "the weight of lies" , "kick drum heart", "i and love and you" and "live and die". Their new album has the feel of a live album; a live album where they're trying out new ideas. (At least one song is in fact performed live.) But these new ideas are in the good-not-great territory, with no big creative spark to set them in the upper echelon of avett brothers' songs like those i listed. All that's left is a good americana band playing good songs.

From zdwyatt 11/20/2013 19:04

These are pulled from the same sessions that yielded "The Carpenter." I don't know that they're necessarily songs that didn't make the cut; I think these albums are equally disappointing. There aren't any great tracks, but there are some good songs. In fact, if they'd combined the good songs from both albums, they'd have had one really solid album.

I've spent a lot of time trying to get into this album. There are a few high points (Another Is Waiting, Good To You, Souls Like The Wheels which was recorded live) but the majority of the album is exactly what I feared from initial announcement, tracks that basically weren't good enough for last years' The Carpenter. If you're a diehard fan, check it out. But elsewhere, its basically a weaker reheated sequel to The Carpenter but lacking the consistency of its predecessor. Hopefully the next album will be stronger.