I and Love and You

Witwiwo:

What: I and Love and You.

By Whom: The Avett Brothers.

How Long: 13 tracks of goodness, it took me a few days to give it a good listen-to.

Where: Mostly in my car.

Why: Well, I'd heard about them a while ago, then more recently through Ryan Hollingsworth's blog, but it was this video and a wicked good deal on Amazon that pushed me over to purchasing it.

Expectations: Fairly low even though several friends lauded them greatly to me.

Two Sentence Synopsis: Imagine a few guys who grew up hearing bluegrass and rock decided to make an indie album. Then they take a good theology book and slam it skillfully into highly relatable lyrics: voila!

My Favorite Part or Quote was:
from "Head full of Doubt/Road full of Promise"

There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light
In the fine print they tell me what’s wrong and what’s right
And it comes in black and it comes in white
And I’m frightened by those that don’t see it.

--with a close second from "Kick Drum Heart"

There's nothing like finding gold
within the rocks and the coal.
I'm so surprised to find more,
Always surprised to find more.

I won't look back anymore--
I left the people that do.
Its not the chase that I love,
Its me following you.

My-my heart like a kick drum!
My-my love like a voice!

How Fun It Was: No all-out hilarious parts, but there's some fun little ditty qualities to "January Wedding" and "Kick Drum Heart."

The Positives: Oh, where to begin? I would definitely have to say the lyrics. Definitely the strongest part of the album. A close second would be the variety of songs--all of a similar style but each distinct and separate from the others. Also, the general "funness" of the album--I could sing the chorus to "Kick Drum Heart" over and over and over again--and indeed I have.

The Negatives: Sadly, this album will not appeal to everyone at a first listen through. It takes some time with the songs to get the feel of them, with the exception of two or three catchy choruses. I only hope people have the diligence to give it at least two listen-throughs. Also--the album art (pictured above). I under the reasoning behind it, I just think something else would have better suited the album.

The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application: Oh, again--where to begin? Like I said--good theology crammed into easy-to-relate-to lyrics.

• Total depravity ["There’s a darkness upon me that’s flooded in light"]
• God's ownership and justice ["will you forget when we have paid our debt/Who did we borrow from?"]
• Pride as a dangerous sin ["I wanna have pride like my mother has,/And not like the kind in the Bible that turns you bad."]
• God's sovereignty and the importance of love ["Free is not your right to chose/It's answering what's asked of you/To give the love you find until it's gone"]

Solid gold theology. And the best part is it's accessible to the everyday person who will most assuredly resonate with these lyrics and more.

One thing I learned: That if I want to write some bangin' poetry in my lifetime, which I do, I have some work to do to catch up with what The Avett Brothers have laid down. And all their stuff is accompanied by daggum good music! So many of these songs I am jealous that they came up with them first!

Go/Borrow/Buy/Don't: I am obviously a fan of this album. Go buy it (<-that's how I got it), it will be well worth your money. If you do borrow it just to try it out, please go buy it. Because it's well worth your money. Also, a friend has mentioned that they put on a great show. So go see them too.