The Avett Brothers Perform Live on the Interface

Posted on Nov 6th 2009 7:51AM by Mike Ayers
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At quick glance, the title of the Avett Brothers new record and major label debut appears as simply just 'I Love You.' But really, it's 'I and Love and You,' which hints that the record isn't so much of a direct statement but instead has more of a philosophical meaning behind the new tunes. Included in the liner notes is a lengthy mission statement explaining the thought behind the title, but at the band's recent Interface taping in New York, they gave us some insight into the album's origins.

"It started simply as stepping back, realizing how difficult it is to tell someone that you love them comfortably, and give them the warmth that you really want to," Scott Avett said. "And that's a real problem for us. I can speak personally -- that's really hard to so sometimes with people that you have that feeling for."

For the Avetts, it's a universal feeling that people have at some point in their lives, but Seth Avett takes it a bit further. "I brought the idea of 'I and Love and You' because it seemed to make sense as a centerpiece," he said. "The words are arguably the most important words in any language, and that's a pretty powerful thing to start from. The mission statement goes pretty in depth, but it probably opens up a lot more questions. But it revealed itself to us as something that would make sense a centerpiece for a larger concept."

One of the larger concepts that we suggested was, that when it boils down to it, these North Carolina natives are really just hopeless romantics. Songs such as 'Ten Thousand Words' and 'January Wedding' are fine examples of a classic, Americana view that would make Townes Van Zandt proud.

"Our sentimental state that we tend to float in is with our lyrics," Scott said. "But the lyrics are just a vehicle for a poem more or less."

The Avett Brothers on the Interface