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Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield, ‘Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith’

Courtesy Ramseur Records

Lots of music lovers bond with friends, or make new ones, over a common musical hero. Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers and singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield take that bond a step further with this reverent tribute to the late Elliott Smith. This one-off collaboration for former touring partners Avett and Mayfield features 12 tracks from the introspective tunesmith's decade of recordings, released during his career and posthumously. The pair's love for Smith is evident from the first notes of "Between the Bars," as Avett's voice gently cups Mayfield's. Their hushed harmony threads throughout the album, the two switching off on lead vocals over tastefully spare instrumentation. Friends help to color in the lines of tunes like the lilting "Baby Britain" and austere "Pitseleh," including former Langhorne Slim bassist Paul Defiglia and Avett Brothers bandmates Scott Avett, cellist Joe Kwon, and violinist Tania Elizabeth. On "Let's Get Lost" the duo sings of the desire to "find some beautiful place to get lost" — for some, this could be the place. (Out Tuesday)

ESSENTIAL "Let's Get Lost"

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SARAH RODMAN