Who knew that the Americana ambassadors the Avett Brothers and the thoroughly modern maniac Mike Patton had the same threads woven into their respective freak flags?
Scott and Seth Avett have been enchanting the folk contingent for most of this century with a discography of stripped-down and heart-bursting recs. While Patton is known primarily as the frontman for Faith No More, he’s got his underground bona fides in order, collaborating in outfits such as Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross and various permutations of John Zorn’s ensembles. But does Patton’s penchant for sonic deviance mix with the Avetts’ dustbowl populism?
Hell yeah, y’all. The plaintive spirit of the Avetts adheres endearingly with Patton’s aural adventures. AVTT/PTTN begins with the “Dark Night of My Soul,” where the trio’s voices mesh surprisingly well and Patton gets a little sinister (“I want to hurt somebody / just to let somebody know / the way I’m feeling”). Meanwhile, “Heaven’s Breath” is the ’70s cop-show theme that will make you forget the Eagles of Death Metal for a spell, “Too Awesome” is a love song gone sideways and “The Things I Do” is a lush and majestic exercise (slightly channeling the spirit of the late David Lynch associate Angelo Badalamenti) that’s underscored by Patton’s delivery (“You don’t need to be reminded / when you fucked it up”).
“The Ox Driver’s Song” is probably the most pearl-clutching, monocle-dropping track here, as a flaming orchestra and an aberrant drum machine open up a hellmouth while a banjo keeps time in the mix. In 1969, Cream’s bassist Jack Bruce wrote “Theme for an Imaginary Western.” Fifty-six years later, the Avetts and Patton actually created one.
AVTT/PTTN is incredibly fascinating and sincere with not a whiff of irony, kitsch or inside-jokiness. A curious collab from some unlikely bedfellows, these nine songs carry the propensity to become a gateway drug to discover legendary works from Lee Hazlewood to Scott Walker to Ennio Morricone to such modern askew prairie- and desert-dwellers as Jim White and Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb. It’s not a genre exercise as much as a celebration of the creative osmosis and sincerity these three gents bring to both the process and their friendship. C’mon – you’re not holdin’ yer breath for a Morgan Wallen collab with Autechre, are you?
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