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First Watch: The Avett Brothers, 'No Hard Feelings'

If there's a singular message in the latest work from The Avett Brothers, it's this: Love everyone.

Their video for the song "Ain't No Man," released this past summer, challenges preconceived notions about race and religion by observing the way people treat each other at a busy airport.

That video ends with the band sitting down for what appears to be a photo shoot or interview. It was a cliff hanger of sorts that the band resolves in its video for "No Hard Feelings."

Picking up where "Ain't No Man" left off, "No Hard Feelings" is a more introspective meditation on how the band members got to where they are, and what they've learned along the way. The life lesson, again, is love.

"No hard feelings," they sing on the chorus. "Lord knows they haven't done much good for anyone. Kept me afraid and cold with so much to have and hold."

As the band looks back on the years behind them, the video cuts away to home movies from childhood. It's a deeply emotional and, at times, profound reflection on what it means to be human and the ties that bind us.

"No Hard Feelings" and "Ain't No Man" are both from The Avett Brothers' latest full-length, True Sadness.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
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