Yesterday, The Avett Brothers released the first single and video off of their upcoming studio album, Closer Than Together. The single, High Steppin’, features a Nudie Suit sportin’, haggard Scott Avett driving an old Ford pick-up truck along a country road to nowhere with his sidekick little brother, Skeletor Seth. Throw in a random country-line dancing flash mob and a spoken-word sermon, and you’ve got yourself a hit ladies and gentlemen!
For those fans wanting your old boys back, you may want to hop back in your breathing time machine set to pre-I and Love and You. My guess is that this will not be your cup o’ Joe. But, if you have an open mind, you will likely dig the funky Stranger Things synth vibe that opens and meanders through the song and perk up when the fiddle finds its way into the mix.
After about the third time watching the video, the “what does this all mean” confusion should subside and you will find that common Avett thematic thread that makes their music so relatable–that we are all a bunch of Breakfast Club misfits. Backgrounds and societal labels aside, each of us harbors an internal turmoil fed by insecurities and the idea that we all await the same fate. We see ourselves in others, and others in ourselves, finding more in common that not.
In true Avett fashion, High Steppin‘ also reminds us that somewhere between the darkness and the light, we are all lifted and joined by love.
Evolution of a Fan 