Album review: AVTT/PTTN – AVTT/PTTN

By DAN SOUTHALL

LONG heralded as a musical chameleon, AVTT/PTTN sees Mike Patton share his boundless vocal talent with new American folk/Americana hotshots The Avett Brothers. 

Now being that Americana is not my usual chosen musical hiding place, I really can’t give you much detail. What I can tell you is that the project started with the brothers passing a raft of demos along to a generational musical pioneer famed for being willing to try anything at least once (remember the Monda Cane project? Check it out). These demos struck a chord somewhere with Patton and this here is the result.

Do not come here with expectations of experimental lunacy, there is none of that to be found here.  What is here is mostly casual and restrained acoustic guitars and vocal harmonies balanced with lyrical honesty.  Think of this as your Sunday morning cooking eggs album.  The kind of thing you put on with your dark glasses while you have a coffee and recover a little from the night before.

Personally, I landed at this review looking for something … different. The album kicks off with the style the Avett Brothers are known for, gently plucked guitars and vocal harmonies played out between the three vocalists. Things begin to get interesting when Patton obviously get his claws in on “Heaven’s Breath”, his menacing croon backed by more electric sounds bring forth an overall more darkness.

With this stand-out track out of the way, the gents get back into all manner of folk. Some of the personal highlights come in the form of the Gospel-like “Disappearing” or the country jam of “The Ox Driver’s Song”, tracks that happily display an excitement in artists creating together, not lost in the fuzz of distortion and with no bravado to hide behind.

The album can feel like a weight and it certainly isn’t what a lot of you will be looking for. But if you have ever been a fan of Mike Patton this is certainly another great chapter in his very storied career.