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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>

The Avett Brothers - Slight Figure of Speech

 

And so we enter a new decade, with hopefully new things on the horizon. What'll be the new "fad"? Who's going to be the next big thing? What contorversies and scandals can we expect? And most importantly (in my opinion), when in God's name will Rock music make it's bold, brash, outrageous, egotistical return to the music scene? Such a question might seem quite out of place, but when the Avett Brothers sum up their music on their myspace page with the word "Rock" just prepare to be dissapointed. AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Bad Company this is not. Indie pop I'll accept alongside the dreaded "powerpop" and of course Folk. The Avett Brothers description is horrifyingly misleading.

However, enough about desciptions - what's the music like? If Slight Figure of Speech is anything to go by, the music is, well...meh. Upbeat - yes. Similar - most definately. And there lies the major problem. According to most people out there, the Avett Brothers can do no wrong, and never will, but it seems maybe when taken song by song and not albums as a whole, their magic seems to crumble slightly. If Slight Figure of Speech was their first realese ever, it might cause a bit of "hmm that's alright" reaction from the music world - but they wouldn't be The Avett Brothers. As the first line in the song "They say you gotta lose a couple of fights to win" the band already reveal how the tune will continue. This is most definately a loss, but as I've said most feel they can't mess up so it seems like it'll ultimately be a victory.

Slight Figure of Speech is the eleventh track on the album I and Love and You. Such info does appear random, however when you notce that this is their sixth album, but their major label debut, then maybe there's another factor in place. Maybe when The Avett Brothers do things themselves without major studios and producers (Rick Rubin produced the album) that's when it all comes together. Considering the previous album release Emotionalism on which there are several high quality songs to go from one album to the next you have to ask, what happened? Maybe it's the fact that the band work better on folk material, and really struggle on indie-pop stuff. However, all this is speculation - all I can say is Slight Figure of Speech is not the calibre I've come to expect of the band. Far from it.