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A Recipe For Music to My Mouth

By Vivian Ponte-Fritz

The Avett Brothers- Mignionette

Mignonette Album

An album named for the English yacht, which sank off the Cape of Good Hope, leaving the crew of four stranded on a lifeboat. The young cabin boy was then eaten out of sheer desperation. Five days later the boat was found. The good morals of the talented seaman, Tom Dudley, lead him to tell the truth about the cannibalism incident. In an attempt to put an end to what was called the ”The Custom of the Sea” the surviving boatmen were charged with murder. After drinking their own urine, catching a turtle, and paddling miles and miles, the one bit of evidence against them was told and all their glory was “swept away”. The North Carolina quintuplet strays away from the traditional all Americana genre their home state might invite and toward an ocean bound, sailor feel in this album. Their small shouts and yelps in the grainier “Nothing Short of Thankful” brings in an element of an O Brother, Where Art Thou? Aesthetic. They are having some Gogol Bordello style fun. It’s always a lot of fun to hear other people having fun. While some tunes feel more sentimental than others the overall mix of ups and downs keeps a listener engaged. Another stand out track is “Complainte D’Un Matelot Mourant” (“Lament of a Dying Sailor”). Its creaky boat sounds paired with La Llorona-style cries allows for a very haunting and freaky vibe. Good for a haunted house. Reminds me of music for the devil especially the devil who plays the blues in the musically and artistically genius theater production The Wild Bride.

 

This album is a good one to hear to begin feeling the darker elements of fall and gearing up for Halloween.

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The recipes I will pair with this album are:

 

Oysters With A Classic Mignonette Recipe

Wasabi Mignonette Oysters

For Obvious Reasons

And

Pumpkin Pie with a Hazelnut Crust,

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which I made this morning and just made me feel like falling in love with fall, which is how listening to the Avett Brothers often makes me feel. Like the song “Bella Donna”.

As seen here:

Bella Donna by The Avett Brothers