Featured photo by Heather Kaplan
On June 24, The Avett Brothers return with their first three years, True Sadness. Due out via American/Republic Records the Rick Rubin-produced LP is said to be “a patchwork quilt, both thematically and stylistically,” in which the likes of Queen, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, and Gillian Welch are cited as influences.
Back in April, we heard the stomping lead single “Ain’t No Man”, followed by “Divorce Separation Blues” over Memorial Day weekend. Today, the folk rockers have unboxed another offering in the colorful and twangy jam “Satan Pulls the Strings”. According to Seth Avett, the band hadn’t originally intended for it to be such a spirited number.
“’Satan Pulls the Strings’ started as a quiet and calm depression-era banjo song, and somehow in the studio it blossomed into a genre that I don’t even have a name for…the frenzied yet mechanical energy of it is a first for the band,” he said in a press release.
Rubin weighed in on the song’s recording, adding, “I’m happy to make records to reflect what’s done live. But to widen the palette of what’s possible might lead to different kinds of songwriting in the future, and just keep the creative process exciting for the band.”
Stream it up above. Below, check out a “making of” clip for “Satan” featuring never-before-seen footage with Rubin at Shangri La Studios.
True Sadness Tracklist:
01. Ain’t No Man
02. Mama, I Don’t Believe
03. No Hard Feelings
04. Smithsonian
05. You Are Mine
06. Satan Pulls The Strings
07. True Sadness
08. I Wish I Was
09. Fisher Road To Hollywood
10. Victims Of Life
11. Divorce Separation Blues
12. May It Last
