The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You

Scott and Seth Avett and their mate Bob Crawford have been doing their folk-rock thing for a decade now, and were no doubt hoping that joining forces with super-producer Rick Rubin for their first major-label album would see him work the kind of magic he did with Johnny Cash – and he's done his best.

Rubin's trademark bare-bones production is a good fit, but apart from the hint of a punkish scream in The Perfect Space, and the peppy Kick Drum Heart and Slight Figure of Speech, there's too much reliance on rolling 1-2-3 progressions, two-chord piano lines and laid-back tempos, and a dearth of melodies that can stick in the mind afterwards.

But they manage to click on Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise and Laundry Room, with its mini-hoedown coda, and the lyrics are thoughtful and open-hearted all the way through.

Best tracks: Laundry Room, Tin Man

• Reviewed by Nick Ward. CDs for review supplied by Everyman, Nelson
  

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