The Avett Brothers
I and Love and You - Columbia/American
FILTER Grade: 78%

Bearded record wizard Rick Rubin has made his name in purification, taking acts as varied as Johnny Cash, Slayer and Neil Diamond and distilling their respective sounds to their raw, emotional essence. So when word leaked that Rubin was working with North Carolina’s Avett Brothers on their major label debut, many a bearded jaw dropped in excitement. Surprisingly, I and Love and You is a remarkably uneven record, and the blame falls almost entirely on Rubin’s broad shoulders. The Avetts’ music has always been simple and direct, whether their ancient instruments happen to channel Del McCoury, The Beatles or Sonic Youth. Rubin plays it too genteel, confusing simplicity with the mundane and gussying “Kick Drum Heart” squarely into Third Eye Blind territory before its (short-lived) bridge wrests it back. But this is The Avett Brothers, which means honesty and vulnerability eventually win out. Scott and Seth deliver stunning lyrical and melodic turns, particularly on “Laundry Room,” whose well-paced, spinning harmonies give way to the kind of foot-stomping fiddle breakdown that made the Avetts’ name in the first place. This is a minor stumble at a major plate, but no fear: The highs here do well in drowning out the lows.