ALBUM REVIEW – AVTT/PTTN (The Avett Brothers & Mike Patton) - AVTT/PTTN

WORDS RICK E

AVTT/PTTN

AVTT/PTTN

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A Record several years in the making has finally made into the physical realm, after trading sounds Grammy-nominated roots-rock heroes The Avett Brothers and Faith No More/ Mr. Bungle frontman Mike Patton have constructed a debut album - AVTT/PTTN which is far more than a novelty act.

On paper, this shouldn't work. It's like watching Gordon Ramsay collaborate with your local church bake sale committee or discovering that Lemmy secretly spent his weekends doing synchronized swimming. The cognitive dissonance alone could power a small city. And yet here we are, staring down the barrel of AVTT/PTTN a nine-track journey through what can only be described as the most improbable musical marriage since... well, since the last improbable musical marriage Patton dragged us through.

Let's rewind the tape. Back in 2019, Scott Avett mentioned in some interview that he was a massive fan of Patton's work—specifically Mr. Bungle, which means the man clearly has excellent taste and possibly needs therapy. Patton's management caught wind of this, doors opened, demos started flying back and forth like particularly melodic carrier pigeons, and several years later, we've got ourselves a proper collaboration. Not a feature. Not a guest appearance. A full-blown, three-headed hydra of a project that Scott Avett himself admits involved studying Patton like some sort of demented vocal technique textbook.

The genesis story alone is wonderfully mental. They recorded the entire album without meeting face-to-face, trading ideas like particularly musical pen pals, It's the kind of working method that would give most bands an aneurysm, but somehow these madmen pulled it off.

The album opens with "Dark Night of My Soul," which eases you in with gentle finger-picked acoustics before building into something that feels both spacious and intimate. It's proper craftsmanship, this—the kind of three-part harmony that makes you sit up and pay attention. Patton's voice melds with the Avett’s in a way that shouldn't work but absolutely does, his seasoned baritone adding weight and shadow to their lighter tones. It's like adding a shot of espresso to your morning coffee—you're not fundamentally changing the drink, but you're enhancing it.

"To Be Known" continues in this vein, all tickled piano keys and whispered intentions, before things get properly interesting with "Heaven's Breath." This is the moment where you remember exactly who Mike Patton is. The track arrives with fuzzy, grinding guitars and a driving energy that feels like it's been smuggled in from one of his heavier projects. Scott Avett has admitted this was his first contribution to the project, an attempt to "crank the saw a little bit," and by God, it's the track that best demonstrates what this collaboration could have been if they'd leaned harder into the experimental side. Seth Avett likened it to Mr. Bungle's "Retrovertigo," which is both accurate and probably the highest compliment these songs receive. It's gritty, it's muscular, and it proves that the Avett’s can step outside their comfort zone when properly motivated.

"Too Awesome" arrives as a love song that's... well, it exists. It's the kind of earnest, heart-on-sleeve balladry that the Avett’s have built their career on, and while Patton's vocals add an interesting texture, you can't shake the feeling that this could have been bolder. The chorus proclaims beauty too awesome to explain, which is convenient since they don't really try. It's schmaltzy in a way that Patton's work rarely is, and while that's not necessarily a dealbreaker, it does make you wonder what was left on the cutting room floor.

"Disappearing" feels like the most straightforward Avett Brothers track on the album, with Patton lending a wonderfully old-school, bass-heavy country twang that fits like a glove. This is where you really understand what Patton meant when he described his challenge as becoming "a long distant cousin. A brother that was orphaned. Maybe they kept him in the chicken coop or some shit." He's not trying to dominate these songs; he's slipping into the family dynamic, adding his voice to the chorus rather than commanding centre stage. It's a remarkably ego-free approach from someone who could easily have demanded more spotlight.

The lead single "Eternal Love" is probably the album's finest moment—a genuinely gorgeous piece of work that showcases the best vocals on the entire record. It's spacey, it's melancholic, and it demonstrates exactly why this collaboration has merit. The harmonies are sublime, the arrangement is tasteful, and Patton's delivery has a vulnerability that his work rarely explores. If you're going to point to one track as evidence that this project justifies its existence, this is it.

Then we get to "The Ox Driver's Song," the only track the trio didn't write themselves. It's a traditional folk number that's been thoroughly reimagined, stripped of its roots and rebuilt as something darker and more brooding. There are shades of Robert Plant's recent Saving Grace work here, that same sense of taking familiar material and dragging it through something more pagan and primal. It's an interesting choice for inclusion, suggesting that this project isn't afraid to acknowledge its influences while putting its own stamp on them.

"The Things I Do" and closing track "Received" round out the album with varying degrees of success. "Received" does a commendable job of bringing all the album's different stylistic approaches together, creating something that feels like a proper conclusion rather than just running out of songs. It's dealing with self-inflicted heartbreak and regret, themes that run throughout the record, and it manages to wrap things up without feeling rushed or tacked on.

So, what do we make of all this? The truth is, AVTT/PTTN is an album that demands you meet it on its own terms. If you're approaching it as a Mike Patton album, you'll be frustrated by how much space he's given the Avett’s' aesthetic. If you're coming at it as an Avett Brothers record, you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much they've pushed themselves outside their usual parameters. The sweet spot is right in the middle—accepting that this is genuinely a collaboration where all three artists have put ego aside to serve the songs.

A colossal collaboration

4/5

AVTT/PTTN - FULL TRACK LIST

1. Dark Night of My Soul

2. To Be Known

3. Killing Floor

4. Heaven’s Breath

5. Too Awesome

6. Disappearing

7. Eternal Love

8. The Ox Driver’s Song

9. The Things I Do

10. Received