I still am pretty upset about the new EP, but reading everyone's comments--the negative and positive--really have been a help.

On the one hand, I feel incredibly betrayed by this small--and hopefully not too telling--batch of songs. I mean, prior to this release, the band kept saying the number of fans they have and the money and the fame just didn't matter to them, and I believed that because I love the Avett Brothers so much and I thought I knew what they were about. I was worried, of course, but I took solace in their insistences that the new album would simply be an evolution of the things we all love about their music; they seemed confident and proud of the record and maybe they like this new, polished, one-step-away-from-radio-pop sound (though I doubt it...). The truth is, though, when I heard these new songs, it felt plain like I was losing my favorite band. The new hype is one thing--seeing them listed on itunes homepage as "what's hot"--but the idea of new legions of fans springing up with this EP as their only knowledge of the Avett's music suddenly became too much to handle.

Reading what Iwhofollowthegleam had to say, however, I feel somewhat better:

"To dislike these tracks is fine. Shouldn't have to say this, but people seem to be feeling sensitive (buncha softies we Avett fans are): you can still be a huge fan and dislike these current offerings."

This is very true, and I HAD almost forgotten. Springsteen, my other favorite musician, has a number of albums I don't like, but he always redeems himself and he's always awesome live, even now at whatever age he is, all energy and commitment. I guess I just got used to liking everything the Avetts did, and hearing songs I had already grown the love so much (especially LR), initially broke my heart. Now, I'm willing to deal with the fact the new album will be a dissapointment, but as it's only my first in a long line of life changing offerings, I can deal. My only hope is that the brothers are moving on from music like this, if only to get back to basics and put the spirit back in their recordings.