Folk-rock North Carolina natives The Avett Brothers are back at it again. And this time, their new song “Satan Pulls the Strings” (which will be featured on their June 24 album True Sadness) is a far cry from the soft-spoken, emotional lullabies of 2012’s The Carpenter.
“Satan Pulls the Strings” started as a quiet and calm Depression-era banjo song,” lead singer Seth Avett tells Billboard. “And somehow in the studio, it blossomed into a genre that I don’t even have a name for…the frenzied yet mechanical energy of it is a first for the band.”
Billboard is exclusively premiering ‘Satan Pulls the Strings’, which was produced in-studio at Shangri La Ranch with Rick Rubin, who’s worked with everyone from The Red Hot Chili Peppers to Adele and Kanye West. “I’m happy to make records to reflect what’s done live,” Rubin said in a two-minute video about making the song. “But to widen the palette of what’s possible might lead to different kinds of songwriting in the future, and just keep the creative process exciting for the band.”
Hear the brand new track and watch the making of “Satan Pulls the Strings” below: