I don't take the time to check in here, well, ever really, but I wanted to see what other fans were thinking. I also have to agree with some of the recent posts, that this is a pretty disappointing album, for the Avett Brothers at least. It is pop/country, and while most of it is pretty good compared to the bulk of that genre, it's not pretty good for these guys. And some of it is downright sappy. Ugh.
I can see blaming the label and Rubin, but he has produced raw and powerful bands in the past with some amazing results (Slayer, for example). Frankly, if the goal they set was to be more commercially viable, then so be it. I understand that the strength of the Avetts is in their live sets, and I would have to assume the songs will be way better live (looking forward to finding out on Halloween!). And even with that being said, they have already given us a fleet of outstanding studio albums and eps, including one of the best 3-album runs (Mignonette-Emotionalism) that any band has ever had.
Hopefully they hit it big...

a sidenote- I got the LP a couple weeks ago, and I have to ask, what is the point of putting it on 2 discs if its still going to be 33 rpm? This could have fit on one record. I thought that the point of doing that is so they can be played at 45 speed, which most people agree produces a richer sound. Seems silly to me.