The Avett Brothers talk stepping out of the 'Americana box' on 'True Sadness'

Seth Avett hasn't seen Inside Out yet, but True Sadness, the Avett Brothers' ninth studio album, oddly has quite a bit in common with the introspective Pixar film. 

"There's an overarching resolution in growing older, I think, that if you're fortunate enough to survive your teens and get through your 20s, you're bound to experience sadness and process it and come to terms with it," he told Mashable of the premise behind the album, which was released Friday via Republic Records. "You're just gonna run into these things.... these are all things that are part of everyday. You're just going to realize that tragedy and suffering is a part of life. Our hearts are capable to experience great joy and great tragedy simultaneously."

Indeed, the 12-track True Sadness -- the band's fourth album working with producer Rick Rubin -- goes through a number of hardships, sometimes with a feeling of bulletproof glee, sometimes with a little more melancholy. "I Wish I Was" is a heartbreaking, banjo-heavy song about unrequited love. "Divorce Separation Blues" is about exactly what you think it is. 

And yet, True Sadness is never a downer; rather, it's the closest thing to a pop album they've ever released. It's songs like "Satan Pulls the Strings" that mark True Sadness' biggest departure from its predecessors. While it begins as a familiar mountain banjo song, it quickly unravels into something very different, a psychedelic-inspired thing that seems to echo on itself and sound nothing like what we've heard from the guys who brought us "I and Love and You." 

In a grandiose letter to fans announcing the album back in March, the band compared the project to a patchwork quilt both thematically and stylistically, with songs inspired by a wide range of genres and life experiences 

Avett tells Mashable that while he's aware that it's entirely possible that True Sadness may not be a favorite for fans of their earlier work, it's a risk they're willing to take. Mainly because they know that what they're making is sincere. 

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"It's just like when you tell someone you love them but you don't," he says of maintaining the Avett Brothers sound while embracing new styles. "Our fans are highly intuitive and musically intelligent and they have a big heart, and so if we offer something that's not sincere they know it. Genre and all of that takes a backseat to sincerity. It's not necessary for us to stay in [the] Americana box but it is necessary for us to keep telling our stories and to put our full effort into our music."

Oh, and to go along with the album, the band also has a True Sadness video game, which is way more fun than it sounds. In the side-scrolling game, you play the astronauts on the cover of True Sadness, and ride a horse through outer space trying to avoid cosmic obstructions like flying meteors.

You can check out the True Sadness video game here, while the album is available on iTunes and streaming services. 

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