The Carpenter (album)

The Carpenter is the seventh studio album by folk rock group the Avett Brothers. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, who'd produced their previous full-length studio album, I and Love and You.^[1][2][3][4]

The Carpenter
Studio album by the Avett Brothers
Released	September 11, 2012
Recorded	Asheville, Venice Beach, Malibu, Los Angeles
Genre	Indie rock, folk rock, folk punk, roots rock, Americana
Length	46:40 (iTunes Edition)
Label	American
Producer	Rick Rubin
The Avett Brothers chronology
Live, Volume 3 (2010) The Carpenter (2012) Magpie and the Dandelion (2013)

The album was listed at #41 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying, " The palette ranges from Nineties grunge to wintry front-porch lamentation to Beatles bounce, tied together by a sweet Southern-bro sentimentality."^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(72/100)[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[7]
AllMusic	[8]
Alternative Press	[9]
American Songwriter	[10]
The Austin Chronicle	[11]
Christianity Today	[12]
Consequence of Sound	[13]
The Guardian	[14]
The Independent	[15]
musicOMH	[16]
Punknews.org	[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]
Taste of Country	[19]

Upon its release, The Carpenter by The Avett Brothers received generally positive reviews from most music critics.^[6] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 24 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[6] First and foremost, The Carpenter has received positive or favorable reviews from the following publications: About.com, AllMusic, Alt Rock Live, Alternative Press, American Songwriter, The Austin Chronicle, The A.V. Club, Christianity Today, diffuser.fm, Entertainment Weekly, The Lantern, musicOMH, Paste, PopMatters, Pitchfork, Punknews.org, Rolling Stone and Taste of Country. On the other hand, The Carpenter got mixed reviews from the following publications: Consequence of Sound, The Guardian, The Independent, The Milk Carton, NME, Pop 'stache and Thank Folk for That.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Once and Future Carpenter"	4:53
2.	"Live and Die"	4:32
3.	"Winter in My Heart"	4:55
4.	"Pretty Girl from Michigan"	2:47
5.	"I Never Knew You"	2:57
6.	"February Seven"	4:16
7.	"Through My Prayers"	4:11
8.	"Down With the Shine"	4:05
9.	"A Father's First Spring"	4:06
10.	"Geraldine"	1:38
11.	"Paul Newman vs. The Demons"	4:43
12.	"Life"	3:43

Target Deluxe Edition^[20]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Standing With You"	2:37
14.	"Die Then Grow"	6:26

The Carpenter Collector's Edition - Digital Download

No.	Title	Length
15.	"The Clearness Is Gone"	4:56

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 8 US Billboard 200[22] 4 US Folk Albums (Billboard)[23] 2 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[24] 3 US Digital Albums (Billboard)[25] 2 US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[26] 4 US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[27] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2012) Position US Billboard Top Billboard 200[28] 143 US Billboard Top Rock Albums[29] 40

Personnel

The Avett Brothers

• Seth Avett – Lead and backing vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, organ
• Scott Avett – Lead and backing vocals, banjo, acoustic guitar, piano
• Bob Crawford – Upright and electric bass, backing vocals
• Joe Kwon – Cello
• Jacob Edwards - Drums, percussion

Additional Musicians

• Lenny Castro - Percussion on all songs, excluding "A Father's First Spring"
• Benmont Tench - Organ on "The Once & Future Carpenter", "A Father's First Spring", "Life", "Paul Newman vs. The Demons", "Through My Prayers", Mellotron on "A Father's First Spring", Harmonium on "Through My Prayers", Piano on "Winter In My Heart"
• Chad Smith - Drums on "Live & Die", "Down With The Shine", "Paul Newman vs. The Demons"
• Steven Nistor - Drums on "A Father's First Spring"
• Ryan Hewitt - Percussion on "February Seven"
• Charlotte & Hattie Webb - Backing vocals on "Life"
• Doug Wamble - Slide guitar on "Live & Die"
• Blake Mills - Electric guitar on "Live & Die"
• Dana Neilsen - Chimes on "I Never Knew You"
• April Cap - Oboe on "Through My Prayers"
• Geoff Nudell - Bass clarinet on "Through My Prayers"
• Ed Roth - Piano on "Through My Prayers"
• Danny Moynahan - Saw on "Winter In My Heart"

Production

• Rick Rubin - Producer
• Ryan Hewitt - Engineering and Mixing
• Dave Collins - Mastering
• Jake Sinclair - Additional engineering on "Down With the Shine"
• Tucker Martine - Additional engineering on "A Father's First Spring"
• Jordan Silva, Jon Ashley, Julian Dreyer, Evan Bradford, and Evan Hill - Recording assistants
• Recorded at Echo Mountain Recording Studios, Asheville, NC, Lock Stock Studio, Venice, CA, Shangri-La, Malibu, CA

Notes and references

1. Thompson, Stephen (2012-08-29). "First Listen: The Avett Brothers, 'The Carpenter'". NPR. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
2. "Stream: The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter « Consequence of Sound". consequence.net. 2012-08-30. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
3. Robinson, Lisa (2012-03-21). "The Avett Brothers on Their New Album, The Carpenter". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
4. Conaton, Chris. "The Avett Brothers: The Carpenter". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
5. "50 Best Albums of 2012". Rolling Stone. 5 December 2012.
6. "The Carpenter, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
7. Ruehl, Kim (September 25, 2012). "Avett Brothers - the Carpenter". About.com. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
8. Monger, James (September 11, 2012). "The Carpenter - The Avett Brothers : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
9. Lux, Rachel (September 11, 2012). "The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter". Alternative Press. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
10. Moss, Marissa R. (August 30, 2012). "The Avett Brothers: The Carpenter". American Songwriter. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
11. Caligiuri, Jim (October 12, 2012). "Review: Avett Brothers: The Carpenter (Universal Republic)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
12. Jones, Jeremy V. (September 11, 2012). "The Avett Brothers: The Carpenter". Christianity Today. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
13. Caffrey, Dan (September 14, 2012). "Album Review: The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
14. Hann, Michael (November 8, 2012). "The Avett Brothers: The Carpenter – review". The Guardian. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
15. Gill, Andy (November 3, 2012). "Album: The Avett Brothers, The Carpenter (Universal Island) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
16. Baber, Andy (November 5, 2012). "The Avett Brothers – The Carpenter". musicOMH. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
17. thepopeofchili-town (January 31, 2013). "The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
18. Hermes, Will (September 11, 2012). "The Carpenter". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
19. Dukes, Billy (September 16, 2012). "The Avett Brothers, 'The Carpenter' – Album Review". Taste of Country. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
20. The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter - Only at Target. "The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter - Only at". Target. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
21. "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
22. "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
23. "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard.
24. "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
25. "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Digital Albums)".^{[dead link]} Billboard.
26. "The Avett Brothers Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard.
27. "Vinyl Albums". billboard.
28. "Top Billboard 200 Albums - Year-end 2012". billboard.
29. "Top Rock Albums - Year-end 2012". billboard.