Scott and Seth Avett, the core of the Avett Brothers, have had their career obsessively stickered with the a-word — Americana. But they wouldn’t let that get in the way of working with their hero-cum-friend Mike Patton, fearless frontman for Faith No More and co-founder of Ipecac Recordings.
The trio doesn’t remember how its collaboration, the AVTT/PTTN band, ignited. Scott may have sent Patton a fan letter of sorts that moved the singer to respond. And, on more than one occasion, Seth and Scott have professed their love for Patton. “Mike’s part of our DNA, like the fabric of our youth,” Scott revealed. “He’s a dear friend now, but when we were younger, I was imitating him.”
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Patton had also been an Avetts fan and longed for a time when “somehow I would find an outlet that was more personal, an environment that was more peaceful. On a personal level, this project came at a point in my life when I was looking to pivot.”
It turns out that the roots of AVTT/PTTN weren’t stitched up with contriving a bold musical statement. While the proceedings can be askew (“The Ox Driver’s Song,” yeah!), the record is not about comfort-zone evacuation. Patton’s judicious use of effects and vocal timbres maximizes the Avetts’ various mise-en-scène atmospheres. Likewise, the Avetts’ complete the reciprocity circle by allowing Patton the space to conjure more melodic and introspective vistas of his own design (“Dark Night of My Soul,” “Eternal Love”). And standing in an actual desert is better than iPhone footage, isn’t it?
After collaborating with their artistically deranged compadre, could the Avetts ever return to the plaintive mindset that got them rolled into the “Americana” general store inside their fans’ noggins? The answer is simple: Who cares? AVTT/PTTN’s intentions may be best described in the same way James Bond approaches martinis: your consciousness might be shaken, but your heart will remain stirred.
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