THE AVETT BROTHERS release a new single entitled “Bang Bang” today. Additionally, the pre-order for the group’s tenth full-length album, Closer Than Together [American/Republic Records], which hits stores October 4th, just went live today. Pre-order Closer Than Together HERE.
Check out The Avett Brothers new song “Bang Bang” HERE and watch the official music video HERE.
The song & official music video (directed by Academy Award Winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, Won’t You be My Neighbor?) highlights the group’s storytelling and songwriting process with images of the band first putting pen to paper creating the new song and follows them to the stage performing “Bang Bang” in front of a massive audience. All the while the song’s lyrics embody a desire for a better world for the next generation, one with less violence and more togetherness.
Recently, the boys took the stage at Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! on ABC for an unforgettable debut performance of their single “High Steppin’” and recent song “Trouble Letting Go.”
“High Steppin’” has continued to climb as it held the #1 spot on the Americana Radio Singles Chart for seven out of the eleven weeks it’s been on the chart, reached Top 10 at Triple A Radio and its music video continues to be a fan favorite with its uncharacteristic dance routine! See the official music video for “High Steppin’” here!
Don’t miss The Avett Brothers on tour throughout the rest of 2019 making stops at hallowed venues such as New York’s Barclays Center on October 5th. Check out the full tour dates here: www.theavettbrothers.com/tour
Everything now sets the stage for Closer Than Together which began when Seth Avett recently penned a mission statement about the new record.
Read the full mission statement below
MISSION STATEMENT: CLOSER THAN TOGETHER
The last thing the world needs is another piece of sociopolitical commentary. We, as a species that boasts at least some semblance of consciousness, are entering an odd new form of fatigue: one that encompasses not only our observance of the behavior of others (nefarious and otherwise), but also our seemingly unlimited endurance to loudly judge and wax philosophically about it. Of course, in each instance, regardless of its nature or circumstance, our own personal opinions are presented as the clear, correct, and only perspective on any given subject. We speak as if we are not one body, though we are. We judge as if we don’t value the judgment of others upon us, though we do. We forget to put our feet into the shoes of our neighbor, and curse them for making the same ancient mistake.
My brother and I have never been more aware of our own failings in the department of golden-rule navigation. We see it in ourselves and we are accustomed to seeing it in our neighborhood, our state, our country, our planet. We speak daily with each other about the lunacy of the world in which we live… the beauty of it, the mystery of it, the hilarity and the unspeakable calamity of it. We talk about God and community and evil and what forgiveness is and what it means to aim for unconditional love ina land (and body) full of conditions. Sometimes we feel better just from speaking about it with a loved one. Sometimes we don’t and we go to our little bunks on the tour bus and continue to process the latest example of fear-inducing news that our phones have indiscriminately handed us. We then simultaneously endeavor to forgive ourselves for being in the fortunate position of having bunks in a tour bus to lie down on. In whatever way we process both personal and universally-affecting events, at some point, these conversations grow melodies and find themselves stepping back into our lives in the forms of songs.
As our records tend to be, the newest - entitled ‘Closer Than Together’ - is certainly led by the personal narrative of our own lives. In this way, there is no massive departure from our continued artistic language. This chapterhowever, perhaps in part because of our age or our time, wanders inevitably into hallways both social and political. These are songs developed through and inspired by not only what we see inside our homes and our travels, but by the connections we are blessed to nourish, the conversations by which we are surprised and intrigued, and by the far-reaching experiences of our distant brothers and sisters. We are family men with good and evil in our hearts, and the pains and joys in this world are mirrored on the small scale of our own personal existence. The songs herein are reflections of what we are. ‘We’ meaning Scott and me. ‘We’ meaning this family and this band. ‘We’ meaning the strangers we’ve had (and will have) the honor of encountering all over the world. ‘We’ meaning ‘We the People'.
We didn’t make a record that was meant to comment on the sociopolitical landscape that we live in. We did, however, make an album that is obviously informed by what is happening now on a grander scale all around us...because we are a part of it and it is a part of us. ‘Closer Than Together’ is a record of obvious American origin - a creation that fittingly could only come about through hard work, measured freedom, awe-inspiring landscapes, and perfectly flawed individualism.
The Avett Brothers will probably never make a sociopolitical record. But if we did, it might sound something like this.
-Seth Avett (Summer 2019)
