True Sadness
Studio album by
The Avett Brothers
ReleasedJune 24, 2016
Genre
Length50:59
Label
ProducerRick Rubin
The Avett Brothers chronology
Live, Vol. Four
(2015) 		True Sadness
(2016) 		Closer Than Together
(2019)
Singles from True Sadness
  1. "Ain't No Man"
    Released: April 15, 2016
  2. "Satan Pulls the Strings[3]"
    Released: June 9, 2016

True Sadness is the ninth studio album by American folk rock band The Avett Brothers. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album was released on June 24, 2016, through American Recordings and Republic Records.[1] A vinyl edition was released on August 5, 2016.[4] At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Americana Album, and the first track "Ain't No Man" was nominated for Best American Roots Performance.[5][6] The production of the album is chronicled in the 2017 Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio documentary May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers.[7]

Reviews

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Boston Globe [9]
Consequence of SoundB[10]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]
The Guardian[11]
PopMatters[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Slant[14]
Uncut[8]

True Sadness received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 68, based on seventeen reviews.[8]

Sarah Brooks of Consequence of Sound gave a positive review stating "With True Sadness, The Avett Brothers open up to their audience, sharing their dark depths with tenacity and bravado, all while inspiring to see struggles as strength."[10] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone gave The Avett Brothers a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Hermes stated "It feels like the record's most profound celebration - just joyous strumming, bowing, and the sound of earnest voices collectively making light out of dark."[13] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave a review a 7/10 "Far from being an album for wallowing in the depths of grief, True Sadness is a record about the emergence of hope."[1]

Promotion

The Avett Brothers promoted the album by performing on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on June 24, 2016.[15]

Commercial performance

In its home country of the United States, True Sadness debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, with 46,000 equivalent album units, behind Drake's Views and Lemonade by Beyoncé.[16] It was the best-selling album of the week, selling 43,000 copies in its first week.[16]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Ain't No Man"3:32
2."Mama, I Don't Believe"4:16
3."No Hard Feelings"5:14
4."Smithsonian"4:33
5."You Are Mine"3:28
6."Satan Pulls the Strings"3:08
7."True Sadness"4:35
8."I Wish I Was"5:16
9."Fisher Road to Hollywood"4:23
10."Victims of Life"2:59
11."Divorce Separation Blues"4:56
12."May It Last"4:39
Target bonus tracks[17]
No.TitleLength
13."I Wish I Was" (Full band version)4:47
14."Rejects in the Attic"5:22

Personnel

from Allmusic[18]

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "True Sadness - The Avett Brothers - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "The Avett Brothers' True Sadness: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  3. ^ "The Avett Brothers Premiere New Song 'Satan Pulls the Strings': Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "avettbrothers.shop.musictoday.com/product/5ULPAV02". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "Here Is the Complete List of Nominees for the 2017 Grammys". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  6. ^ "The Avett Brothers". The Recording Academy. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "They were 'self-centered hillbillies.' Now, the Avett Brothers are movie stars". charlotteobserver. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "Reviews for True Sadness by The Avett Brothers". Metacritic. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Ken, Capobianco (June 22, 2016). "On 'True Sadness,' the Avett Brothers outgrow their rustic roots". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Brooks, Sarah (June 22, 2016). "Album Review: The Avett Brothers – True Sadness". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Harriet, Gibsone (June 23, 2016). "The Avett Brothers: True Sadness review – minor digressions from rootsy rockers". The Guardian. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  12. ^ Frahm, Jonathan (July 15, 2016). "The Avett Brothers:True Sadness". PopMatters. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Hermes, Will (June 24, 2016). "True Sadness - The Avett Brothers". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  14. ^ Winograd, Jeremy (June 3, 2016). "The Avett Brothers - True Sadness". Slant. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
  15. ^ NBC.com. "The Avett Brothers Guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - NBC.com". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Drake's 'Views' No. 1 for Ninth Week on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. July 3, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  17. ^ "The Avett Brothers - True Sadness – Target Exclusive : Target". Target. June 28, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  18. ^ "True Sadness - The Avett Brothers - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  19. ^ "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  20. ^ "Drake's 'Views' No. 1 for Ninth Week on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  21. ^ "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  22. ^ "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  23. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
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