The Avett Brothers poised for big breakthrough via The Carpenter: Hear it at NPR’s “First Listen”!

Art credit: Jeremy Okai Davis — http://www.jeremyokaidavis.com

If you think Mumford and Sons are the greatest folk band to make the crossover to pop, you’ve barely scratched the surface of what the Avett Brothers offer. Their album I and Love and You should have been their massive breakthrough to mainstream success, but instead it left room for their latest, the Rick Rubin-produced The Carpenter, which drops September 11th. But you don’t have to wait that long to hear it — NPR’s excellent “First Listen” series has the exclusive on the full album stream, which showcases how little it took to twist the band’s signature sound enough to make this perhaps the surest success of the fall thus far. “The Once And Future Carpenter” opens the album on a strong Vandaveer-esque note, but the band really gets going on the stunning ballad “Winter In My Heart,” which is everything one could want from an Avett Brothers song and more. I can’t wait to dig deeper into this album, which is perfect as an introduction or a continued exploration for fans who already know they love what the band offers.