Before hearing this record, I had no idea who the Avett Brothers were. In fact, the only reason I even heard this album in the first place was because of its intriguing name, Emotionalism. With a title like that, I was expecting the soundtrack to an awkward Broadway show, an all-Nickelback covers record, or a new Death Cab for Cutie EP. What I wasn’t expecting to find was a trio of banjo-pickin’, fiddle-wieldin’, upright bass-playin’ Carolinians with a penchant for bluegrass, grunge, and calypso.

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