Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers have attracted most of the headlines in recent years. But it is now time for North Carolina quartet The Avett Brothers to take centre stage on America’s folk-rock scene. Their ninth studio album, True Sadness, has shot straight to number three on the Billboard 200 and holds pole position on both the Folk Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.
“We released a live album late last year but this is our first new material for nearly three years,” said singer and multi-instrumentalist Seth Avett. “It’s great to have our fans respond so positively.”
Seth, now 35, and his 40-year-old brother Scott have been playing music together since childhood. Their early songs were recorded on cassette tapes at the family farm. But the boys did not play together in their first bands. Seth was a member of Margo while Scott played with Nemo. They joined forces after the two bands decided to merge.
“We kept the name Nemo,” Scott recalled. “We played good rock and roll songs and actually self-released three albums. But Seth and I came to realise we didn’t really want to keep performing rock and roll. We’d play some soft, slower acoustic stuff to wind down after Nemo gigs and eventually performed these songs in public along with Nemo guitarist John Twomey.”
In 2000, the trio released their debut EP entitled The Avett Brothers.
“We’d called ourselves Nemo Downstairs or The Back Door Project,” Seth explained. “I believe it was John who suggested the name change for the EP. We didn’t know it then but he was already thinking of quitting music so I guess he wanted us to have a distinct identity.”
John was replaced by The Memphis Quick 50 multi-instrumentalist Bob Crawford.
“I wasn’t recruited to replace John,” Bob stated. “The guys wanted someone to play bass so we were a foursome for a few weeks before John decided to leave.”
The new trio released their debut album, Country Was, in 2002. This was followed by four more albums over the next five years. All were well received by the critics but only the last of these would make any impression on the charts. 2007’s Emotionalism reached number 134 on the Billboard 200.
This album marked the introduction of cellist and backing vocalist Joe Kwon who performed on six of the 16 tracks. Initially intended to be a recording and touring musician, Joe’s impact on their songs was such that he was quickly invited to become a permanent member.
“I was a classically trained musician who worked for a computer company,” Joe laughed. “I’d given up my job and was playing with another band when Bob saw me. I was an Avett Brothers fan so I was happy to play with the guys on their album and even happier when they asked me to join the band.”
Emotionalism became their breakthrough record. They won Duo/Group of the Year and New/Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2007 Americana Music Association Awards.
If Emotionalism got The Avett Brothers noticed, it was their 2009 album, I and Love and You, which took the band to another level. It reached number 16 on the Billboard 200 and became the first of their three records to top the Folk Albums chart.
“We made all kinds of prestigious television and music festival appearances,” smiled singer and multi-instrumentalist Scott. “It was a great time for us because we felt like we’d finally made it on the music scene as a whole rather than just on the roots and folk circuit.”
They issued their first live DVD, recorded at the band’s homecoming concert in Charlotte, North Carolina. Such was the demand for live performances that it was three years before the release of their next album, The Carpenter. This record peaked at number four on the Billboard 200, one spot higher than 2013’s Magpie and the Dandelion.
“We really couldn’t have hoped for anything more,” Seth remarked. “There have been ups and downs in our personal lives. You can hear some of this in the songs on True Sadness. But when you compare where we were as a band in those early days around the turn of the century to where we are now, we can only say it’s been an amazing journey.”


IN BRIEF
SPICE GIRLS — GEM

Long-standing rumours of a Spice Girls reunion have proved to be true. Well, sort of. It seems their version of girl power has been reduced by 40 per cent with Victoria Beckham and Melanie Chisholm declining the opportunity to re-join their former bandmates. This diminished line-up has caused Geri Horner, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown to rename themselves as Spice Girls - GEM.
It was the summer of 1996 when the girls exploded on to the music scene with their debut single, Wannabe. The song topped charts world-wide and was the first of their nine UK number ones over a four-year period.
Their intention had been to organise an event to mark the 20th anniversary of Wannabe. But it now appears the 21st anniversary will be celebrated with a massive concert in London’s Hyde Park next July. The release of new material is also possible though the girls have so far made no comment about this.
News of the reunion has been met with a mixed response. Some critics have suggested it is like three mothers with school-age children devising a project to occupy their spare time. Others are not so disparaging but insist it could hardly be a Spice Girls reunion without Victoria and Melanie C.
For their part, Victoria and her former soccer star husband David Beckham have their fingers in so many pies while Mel is working on a new solo album. The door is certainly not closed on their participation in the reunion and Spice Girls fans live in hope that they might change their minds.

Margaret

Few Polish artists have made any kind of impression on the international pop scene. But 25-year-old Margaret, real name Malgorzata Jamrozy, could perhaps become the exception.
Born in the north-western city of Stargard Szczecinski, she studied clarinet and saxophone at a music school in Choszczno before moving to Warsaw to study English. But she switched courses eventually earning a degree in fashion design.
Margaret’s professional career blended with her academic work. She began singing with the band oNieboLepiej in 2009 before winning the Polish television talent show, Stansa na Sukces. She appeared in the stage musical, “Rent,” and formed the Margaret J Project band.
Her first solo release, Thank You Very Much, became the third-biggest-selling single in Poland during 2013. She has since released a string of successful singles and albums some of which have also gained popularity outside her native land.
Margaret is now making a bid for international stardom with her song, Cool Me Down. It reached number four in Poland and was expected to win the nomination as Poland’s entry for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest but lost out to Michal Szpak’s Colour of Your Life.
The track is accompanied by a video which can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWX-Mw4dbCs
More of her music promos and live performances are posted at www.youtube.com/c/margaretofficialyt/videos

Broods


New Zealand brother and sister Caleb and Georgia Nott, collectively known as Broods, are back on the music scene with their sophomore album, Conscious. It has topped the chart in their homeland and so far peaked at number two in Australia.
Opening track, Free, has been issued as the lead single. The accompanying video is available to view at www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDsxtBVLyss
The video is also among those posted at www.youtube.com/user/BroodsVEVO
The others found here are for singles taken from their 2014 debut album, Evergreen.
Both Broods albums can also be heard in full by scrolling down their YouTube user page. Place your mouse pointer on the album titles to reveal a ‘play all’ box. Click on this to hear every song.