Friday, December 12, 2025

Vanity - The Avett Brothers

Vanity - The Avett Brothers
2:48
Magpie and the Dandelion, 2013
Written by the Avett Brothers

This is an interesting folk-rock song, in that it neatly splits the folk and the rock.  It starts with some rather oblique lyrics that reference Ecclesiastes 1:2 and then go off in a different direction: "Call off the guards / Call off the search / Their heads are chopped off / They're running in circles."  Midway through, the song erupts into a thunderous rock riff that feels almost outsized for its brief runtime, before circling back to the earlier refrain. The structure recalls "Live and Let Die" in miniature: quiet reflection interrupted by sudden force. It doesn't hit the same dramatic heights at McCartney's song, but the contrast gives the song its charge, making this a compact, slightly strange, but ultimately satisfying listen.

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