Record Reviews

The Avett Brothers

Album: “True Sadness”

Grade: 4 stars (out of 4)

A quiet, deep sigh opens the loveliest tune on The Avett Brothers’ terrific new album, “True Sadness.” It might reflect the wistful tale of a romance Seth Avett pines for in “I Wish I Was.” But it could be just the opposite — the kind of expression you’d make in the presence of something exquisite. And that describes this album, the 11th from the alt-folk band with the homespun hipster sound.

It’s their first studio album since 2013, and there’s an undertone of melancholy on many of the 12 tracks, marked by the brothers’ haunting harmonies, Scott Avett’s plaintive banjo picking and Seth’s soulful guitar. The elements blend sublimely in the laments of “Fisher Road to Hollywood,” punctuated by Joe Kwan’s beautiful cello. It’s classic Avetts at their best.

But in these poetic songs of love and loss and life there’s also a tone of resolve and affirmation. It’s there in the plucky “Divorce Separation Blues,” with a Depression-era sound complete with Seth’s authentic yodeling. And it’s loud and clear in “Ain’t No Man,” the hand-clapping, foot-stomping anthem to overcoming fear and anger, hate and hardship.

—Lindsay Tanner, Associated Press

Neil Young

Album: “Earth”

Grade: 4 stars (out of 4)

Longtime environmentalist Neil Young takes a hybrid approach on “Earth,” a double disc compilation of live tracks loosely related to sharing our planet with the animal kingdom.

The sounds of honking geese, croaking frogs and buzzing bees come and go over the 13 songs taken from Young’s 2015 tour with the band Promise of the Real. Young doesn’t try to hide the studio manipulation, which also includes some overdubbing and – gasp! – auto-tuning, warning on the cover that “Earth” contains “modified content.”

As goofy as all the animal noises may sound, the end result is an oddly hypnotic ode to mother Earth. The undisputable highlight of “Earth” is a mesmerizing 28-minute feedback and distortion-laden version of the rocker “Love and Only Love” from 1990’s “Ragged Glory.”

—Scott Bauer, Associated Press