The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers aren't exactly a hard sell: Seth and Scott, two handsome, bearded brothers from North Carolina, play sweetly ragged folk songs that are both tender and twangy. The interplay of the brothers' voices — one high, one husky — is enough to melt girls' hearts and make grown men weep (and "Murder in the City," from last year's The Second Gleam, accomplishes both in one fell swoop). Years of touring and sheaves of critical acclaim have paid off: The Rick Rubin-produced I and Love and You, the band's first LP for Columbia Records, will be released in August. But those who worry about the Avett Brothers' move to the big leagues need only to remember that the group's simple tools — mournful cello drones, vicious guitar strums and those fraternal harmonies — are incorruptible.