The Avett Brothers announce new album in the middle of a 1,000-word open letter

The Avett Brothers have announced a new album, True Sadness, in a very Avett Brothers way -- with an emotional 1,074-word open letter on the passing of time, the line between life and art and .... quilts. 

True Sadness, which Seth Avett compares in the letter to a patchwork quilt, will drop June 24. It's their ninth studio album, the followup to 2013's Magpie and the Dandelion.

"To further propel the expansive color and textural fields of the record, we are blessed to play and perform music with a group of musicians who possess not only great talent, but great interpretive ability," he wrote. "So the quilt is sewn, in part, with the brightly colored threads of Queen, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Jimmie Rodgers, Tom Petty, Nine Inch Nails, Gillian Welch, Aretha Franklin, Walt Disney, Pink Floyd, Kings of Convenience, calypso of the 1950s and country of the 1930s. Rock and roll is here, as always. There are moments of undeniable celebration and camaraderie, others of quiet and lonely exhalation. Throughout the album, we stitched together the boldest red and the calmest green, polka dots and stripes, the roughest denim and the smoothest velveteen."

Read the full letter in its verbose entirety below:

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Avett Brothers tour dates: 

April 7 - Wilmington, NC @ Azalea Festival
April 8 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
April 9 - Port Chester, NY @ The Capitol Theatre
April 10 - Worcester, MA @ DCU Arena
April 19 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Embassy Theatre
April 21-23 - Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theater
April 29 - Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
April 30 - Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre
May 5 - Tuscaloosa, AL @ Tuscaloosa Amphitheater
May 6 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
May 7 - Alpharetta, GA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
May 12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE Outdoors
May 14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center
May 15 - Fairfax, VA @ Eagle Bank Arena
June 2-5 - Hunter, NY @ Mountain Jam Festival
June 3 & 4 - Baltimore, MD @ Pier Six Concert Pavilion
June 9 - St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
June 10 - Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Arena
June 11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
June 14 - Deadwood, SD @ Deadwood Mountain Grand Event Center
June 16 - Muskogee, OK @ G Fest
June 18 - Dallas, TX @ Gexa Energy Pavilion
June 19 - Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater
July 4 - Portland, ME @ Thompson’s Point
July 7 - Syracuse, NY @ Landmark Theatre
July 8 - Chautauqua, NY @ Chautauqua Amphitheater
July 9 - Toledo, OH @ Toledo Zoo Amphitheater
July 15-17 - Louisville, KY @ Forecastle Festival
July 21-22 - Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield
July 23 - Kent, WA @ ShoWare Arena
July 25 - Nampa, ID @ Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
July 28-30 - Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
September 16 - Lincoln, CA @ Thunder Valley Casino Resort
September 16-18 - Del Mar, CA @ Kaaboo Del Mar

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