Grade: D+
Folksy rock group The Avett Brothers has rushed to release its eighth studio album, “Magpie and the Dandelion,” a little more than a year after the release of “The Carpenter.” The group explains the quick album turn-around by saying the session that produced the last album also produced tangential, ballad-heavy material. Released through American Recordings, the album is more pop than rock, and much of the lyrical content is cheesy. In “Bring Your Love to Me,” the brothers croon: “Bring your love to me/ I’ll hold it like a newborn child/ one of my own blood/ and I might just even sing a song to keep it calm.” The vocals are forced and whiny at points, nothing like their rough, soulful performances on past works. Fans of the previous two albums — notable for having the same popish feel and production by Rick Rubin— will be satisfied, at least.