Wildflower, 16 years in the blooming.
June 1, 2016 10:45 PM   Subscribe

 
I have been looking forward to this album for such a long time, but I'd begun to worry that it might, well, suck.

So far, my worry is unfounded.
posted by sleeping bear at 10:54 PM on June 1, 2016 [1 favorite]


Oh man, this is a Good Thing. I had no idea it'd been so long since they'd last released anything, cause I have been satisfied listening to Since I Left You as a standalone work. Now there's more? And informed by 16 years of musical evolution? HOORAY.

And that was one fucked-up video.
posted by not_on_display at 10:56 PM on June 1, 2016


That vocal hook. "Singing that West Indian melody / Frankie my boy I'm sure we'll sell 2 million copies or more." Lots of barbed postcolonial satire going on here between the song and the video. I wasn't expecting this to be so thematically dense! Looking forward to people picking out everything. (Another interesting tidbit: MF Doom pointing to Louis Farrakhan's early calypso career.)
posted by naju at 11:08 PM on June 1, 2016 [3 favorites]


Wilmouth Houdini - Bobby Sox Idol, "Ahh Frankie Sinatra" the 1947 song whose original lyrics contain the "2 million copies" line. Brilliant song and I hadn't heard it before.

Anyways, I'm absolutely thrilled about this new album. Since I Left You is possibly my favorite record. Something about it never ever gets old.

If the one and (formerly) only album is all you've heard from the Avalanches, here's a long list of mixes and live sets from them.
posted by honestcoyote at 11:31 PM on June 1, 2016 [6 favorites]


I listened to 'Since I Left You' end-to-end on the commute the other day. It still remains a great record from end-to-end, but maybe that's just my nostalgia.

I won't get my hopes up for the new album to match it - that's a mighty tall order - but I'm curious to say the least.
posted by sektah at 11:53 PM on June 1, 2016


Also I should pop in an obligatory link to their remix of Belle & Sebastian's "I'm a Cuckoo", which is just delightful.
posted by sektah at 12:09 AM on June 2, 2016 [5 favorites]


I feel like "Since I Left You" was the first big Gen-Y record. It arrived at the time when I was postgrad in Uni and the new students were turning with 1980 DOBs and this record was everywhere. And it really changed the way Australian music going when it came out - nothing from all the Gen-X bands was that upbeat and happy. We had a recession to live through but when the Avalanches hit everything was already getting better. This must have been the soundtrack to a million parties.

So this release will be Gen Y's first real nostalgia moment.

Having listened to the track, erm, guys, that ain't too great. Not bad but not worth 16 years.
posted by awfurby at 12:37 AM on June 2, 2016


well well well ... let's see if they pull it off this time. The song is ... something, not a disaster, not a success in my opinion. It's okay. I just wish that the music wouldn't be so tame overall ... Reminded me of Delinquent Habits more than anything else. The trouble with the old one's returning (yep, and it's still weird to think 2000 was that long ago), I guess, is that the pressure is too strong and expectations too high. Doom is always great, and the transition from him to let the Sound of Music (it is that isn't it?) in was perfect. And the video is fun.
posted by sapagan at 12:48 AM on June 2, 2016


Silly to criticise an track as 'not worth 16 years'. For one thing, they certainly weren't working on the same track for 16 years. They probably weren't even working on the album for all of 16 years – likely not even close to that long. For another, artists make art for themselves, not just for you or the critics. Suspend your expectations. If the track was released in 2001 or in 2016, it would still sound the same. By the sounds of it, they waited as long as they did so that they could release a final product they were happy with, not to artificially inflate the hype.
posted by Panthalassa at 12:51 AM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


Anyway, I always preferred the 'Since I Left You' / 'Electricity' / 'Summer Crane' side of the album to the 'Frontier Psychiatrist' side, and this new single is solidly in the latter vein. I'll just have to keep waiting and hoping!
posted by Panthalassa at 12:56 AM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


I thought that same thought as soon as I posted - that of course they hadn't been working on it for 16 years. Really I should have said "doesn't meet 16 years of expectation" and really, what could?

They are damned if they do, damned if they don't. They could have started a new group but then of course they don't all the marketing oomph (and they of course probably feel that as Avalanches they still have something to say). And keeping the same identity just sets up the unreal expectation trap. Same as MBV.

So yeah "not worth 16 years" is too harsh. What I should have said was "it's not for me".
posted by awfurby at 12:56 AM on June 2, 2016


OH SHIT.

This is amazing news. They came, dropped a bomb and left us bouncing up and down wondering what happened. Frontier Psychiatry has something like like 600 samples on it. 'Juice on your chin!' 'Sometimes a parrot talks!'... followed by scritchin' on a parrot on a record... y'know what else talks? A record... a record ... a record ...

And the entire Since I left you album has the same level of craftsmanship. The film clip for Since I left you was amazing. A coal miner, taken too soon, to dance with the valkyries and live forever, is remembered by his workmate that didn't follow him.

Avalanches stopped there! Now they're back? Dear Mefites, if you have a heart that beats, 'Since I left you' are the beats you need.
posted by adept256 at 1:56 AM on June 2, 2016


Since I left you was pretty good. Impressive that it was made entirely out of samples. But El Producto (their EP from a few years earlier) was and is incredible! The mildly scratched CD of it that I found by chance in a Cash Converters about 15 years ago is still one of my most treasured possessions.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 2:47 AM on June 2, 2016 [2 favorites]


That Danny Brown verse is fire and mostly redeems the Prince Paul light beat.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 2:49 AM on June 2, 2016 [2 favorites]


I listened to the song and NOW I CANNOT GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD. It's been running through my head, insidiously, while I work on late-night art and laundry.

I think the poisonous hallucinogenic drink might be Slurm.

The Prince Paul remix of Since I left you was something I listened to DEATH back in college. (Alas, I cannot find a proper link to it anywhere. Great song though!) I'm so excited about this new album. GET HYPE!
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 3:17 AM on June 2, 2016


that was one fucked-up video.

Despite the echoes of Jonestown that was a fantastic video.
posted by iffthen at 4:41 AM on June 2, 2016


Heh.
:(

And keeping the same identity just sets up the unreal expectation trap. Same as MBV.
I don't think that is a fair comparison. m b v sounded exactly like I expected it to - it has some tracks that Shields probably was messing around in the mid 90s when he was big into Jungle (the later third of the album) and others that sound an evolution of MBV. It took like 20 years to complete, but it doesn't feel like Shields scrapped those twenty years. I mean, m b v was looking pretty good already, but one had to wonder if Shields just scrapped the rumoured Island Records sessions. Then, in another way kicks in.
Holy. Shit.

And that's the problem with releasing just a song (instead of dropping an entire album at once a it's common now) is that that's all you have. Either you like it or you don't. Or it grows on you, or start by liking it and then think it's trash. I'm much less hyped for the album now than I was yesterday because I didn't like this one, unlike Lush, who also returned with a single ahead of the product (in their case, an EP). Maybe they have another Since I Left You somewhere. Maybe they don't.
posted by lmfsilva at 5:05 AM on June 2, 2016


Ever since the first promo stuff started appearing last week, Since I Left You seems to have been on heavy rotation everywhere. No bad thing, because it still holds up. It's a perfect product of the bootleg/mashup/bastard pop moment that The Avalanches brought hurtling out into the mainstream. The trouble is that Since I Left You is also such a clear product of that time, and the mashup moment has passed long ago. I always felt that it was a glorious example of the One Great Album, and the further they got from it, the more unlikely it was that they would find a way into something new without it being a retread.

I don't know that I'm necessarily wrong yet, because the goofy crate-digging stuff-your-parents-listened-to vibe is still there, and the track itself is clearly designed to be the Frontier Psychiatrist of the new album, but the aggressive almost-political edge and more multi-culti source material makes me think they're also looking to the wonkier edge of things, so what do I know?
posted by prismatic7 at 5:55 AM on June 2, 2016


Attention Festival Goers: Do NOT drink the free lemonade. IT. HAS. TURNED.
posted by mcstayinskool at 6:18 AM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


It's a perfect product of the bootleg/mashup/bastard pop moment that The Avalanches brought hurtling out into the mainstream.

I think Bentley Rhythm Ace kind of did that a few years before with Bentley's Gonna Sort You Out that was all the rage back in 1997. It was used for everything the Summer of that year.
posted by lmfsilva at 6:36 AM on June 2, 2016 [4 favorites]


The magical ability that the Avalanches had on Since I Left You that virtually no other producers have had before or since was the ability to break out of the loop. Rather than base a song on a combination of a few samples, a beat and then loop it for a chorus or verse, the Avalanches created a continuous and organic flow of samples and layers and styles and loops that guided you through the album. Where another producer would take a few seconds of a track that the Avalanches had created and beat you over the head with it for 5 minutes, virtually every track on Since I Left You had the ability to astound and then be somewhere different and equally astounding just a few bars later.

That's... not the case with Frankie Sinatra.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 6:58 AM on June 2, 2016 [4 favorites]


I like it a lot and the video is batso. Still, it's basically a cover. I'm now hanging out for what else they've got in the box.
posted by h00py at 6:59 AM on June 2, 2016


Remember, all caps when you spell the man's name.
posted by cashman at 7:10 AM on June 2, 2016 [3 favorites]


FINALLY! I believe that this is as good a reason as any to skive off work today.
posted by Otter_Handler at 7:32 AM on June 2, 2016


There are some good Avalanche mixes kicking around from 2001-2005 (ish) that are worth digging into if you haven't heard them, they are similar to the sound of the album, but there are some interesting digressions and additional samples that probably couldn't clear the legal hurdles for the official release:

Breezeblock (My favorite)
Cornerstone
Some People
posted by jeremias at 7:46 AM on June 2, 2016


It's alright, not feel good hit of the summer by any means. Hopefully its a warning shot to remind people they're alive and they have a monster single up their sleeves.
posted by Damienmce at 7:55 AM on June 2, 2016


There are some good Avalanche mixes kicking around from 2001-2005 (ish) that are worth digging into if you haven't heard them, they are similar to the sound of the album, but there are some interesting digressions and additional samples that probably couldn't clear the legal hurdles for the official release:

You can also check out the Zomba Promo, which is the original album, pre-attempting to get samples cleared. One additional track, some built differently.

I EAT TAPAS has it. Then again, perhaps we need a different Avalanches for a different time.
posted by Going To Maine at 7:56 AM on June 2, 2016 [2 favorites]


It would be nice to hear the song without all the goofy sound effects and bullshit piled onto the video.
posted by Evstar at 8:19 AM on June 2, 2016


I EAT TAPAS:
The magical ability that the Avalanches had on Since I Left You that virtually no other producers have had before or since was the ability to break out of the loop. Rather than base a song on a combination of a few samples, a beat and then loop it for a chorus or verse, the Avalanches created a continuous and organic flow of samples and layers and styles and loops that guided you through the album.
DJ Shadow's Endtroducing..... (album) (previouslies) is in that family, I think. Check out the sample list and marvel at how well he's constructed whole, unique, original songs from them.
posted by Vendar at 8:41 AM on June 2, 2016 [4 favorites]


First contender for 2016 Song of the Summer confirmed
posted by thecaddy at 9:57 AM on June 2, 2016


(To be clear, I am super excited for this. But like most artists, the Avalanches haven’t actually been inactive during this time. Rather, we’ve gotten a dribble and a drabble of DJ mixes and random tracks from the core members as the years have gone by -“Stalking To A Stranger (Planets Collide Remix)” dropped with nary a whisper in 2013- and none of them have really floated my boat. They’ve been fine, but that’s it. Fine. So I’m sort of anticipating that this album will be fine, and that’s it. Fine. I’m hoping for a happy surprise, but a big list of guest artists makes me pessimistic. You should find out that you’re a guest artist on an Avalanches album when they send you a request for sample clearance, not because you shared time in the studio with them, darn it.)
posted by Going To Maine at 10:27 AM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


I always preferred the 'Since I Left You' / 'Electricity' / 'Summer Crane' side of the album to the 'Frontier Psychiatrist' side, and this new single is solidly in the latter vein.

You sound like those people who didn't like glam Goldfrapp.
posted by 7segment at 10:38 AM on June 2, 2016


Fine. I’m hoping for a happy surprise, but a big list of guest artists makes me pessimistic. You should find out that you’re a guest artist on an Avalanches album when they send you a request for sample clearance, not because you shared time in the studio with them, darn it.)

I now call that the "Daft Punk pitfall". Sometime, scarcity brings up resourcefulness, and being able to ship a lot of people for a number of "feat." tracks often results on lesser results.
posted by lmfsilva at 10:58 AM on June 2, 2016


I've seen a post or two from the music critic corner of my internet along the lines of: I've heard the entire album, and this is a strange single to choose; the rest of the album is far better. So if you didn't dig this, wait around I guess.
posted by naju at 11:20 AM on June 2, 2016


I am beyond thrilled with this news. Since I Left You was the soundtrack to a big part of my life when it came out; driving back and forth between jobs the summer between sophomore and junior year of college, pulling all nighters during the school year, ambient music when I couldn't sleep during the post-graduation existential years. Just last week I played the album for my partner who, despite sharing much of my musical taste and historic affinity, had never heard of The Avalanches. So looking forward to listening to this new album.
posted by stellaluna at 12:04 PM on June 2, 2016


So if you didn't dig this, wait around I guess.

I enjoyed calling the hotline to listen to “Subways”, and the album trailer is pretty fun.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:42 PM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


Flight two-two is off to Honolulu!
posted by chimpsonfilm at 1:26 PM on June 2, 2016


Pictures of the LP, courtesy of r/theavalanches
posted by Going To Maine at 1:41 PM on June 2, 2016


So nobody else is hearing Insane Clown Posse here? Ok then.
posted by Leon at 4:04 PM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


I do now. THANKS.
posted by naju at 7:34 PM on June 2, 2016 [1 favorite]


THANK YOU, @solarion for bringing this to my attention. I am thrilled beyond belief.

I am not going to listen to the single, because I want to hear the whole new album all at once when it comes out. There's no way it can be as big a letdown as My Bloody Valentine's comeback album, right?

Right?
posted by old_growler at 9:48 PM on June 2, 2016


Y'all are seriously NO FUN. I love this song!

BTW, you can listen to it here on Spotify.
posted by suburbanbeatnik at 10:29 PM on June 3, 2016


I wasn't expecting this to be so thematically dense! Looking forward to people picking out everything. (Another interesting tidbit: MF Doom pointing to Louis Farrakhan's early calypso career.)

If you want to start digging, here's the Genius page for the extended version of 'Frankie Sinatra'.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:24 PM on June 8, 2016 [1 favorite]


There's significant buzz around this album, so much that when a Redditor found that the French Amazon listing for the album had samples, it got wide coverage before being quickly taken off of the French Amazon site.

Otherwise, here's live footage of 'Subways' and a hotline to call to preview the track.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:30 PM on June 8, 2016


El Producto, The Avalanche's old EP, in full on YouTube.
posted by filthy light thief at 2:59 PM on June 9, 2016


The complete set from Primavera Sound (June 3 and June 5, 2016)
Live primavera desk tape. Enjoy y'all. Put this show together an hour before showtime after visa fuckups nixed our live band plans.
Thank fuck we had our vinyl with us. Special thanks and much love to Jamie xx who came through for us with the classic 'good times' acapella at the last moment!
Much love J x
Mixing is ruff as fuck but that's the way we roll. None of this ableton bullshit, this is punk rock kids!
Was a great night and won't forget the love you showed us primavera xx
posted by Going To Maine at 10:27 PM on June 14, 2016


... and it's gone (but it's linked elsewhere in the reddit thread)

Colours (Official Audio) (3:33). Nice enough track, but it feels like an in-between track after Frankie. Also some Lemon Jelly vibes.
posted by filthy light thief at 7:23 PM on June 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


I actually didn’t like the Primavera Desk Tape that much, I have to admit. All right, but kind of meh. I’ve been sating my desires for more content with RJD2’s old “Poorboy Lover Megamix” and Shoes’s “Eccentric Breaks and Beats”. Oldies but goodies.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:12 PM on June 17, 2016 [1 favorite]


Colours (Official Audio) (3:33). Nice enough track, but it feels like an in-between track after Frankie. Also some Lemon Jelly vibes.

Yeah - both this and “Frankie Sinatra” are still too much single songs, not melanges for my tastes. I will say that Danny Brown’s raps have grown on me, but in general I’m still feeling kind of nervous.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:53 PM on June 17, 2016


Danny Brown is one of the worst. Not Wayne bad, but he either has a moment or two (Grown Up) or he is absolutely terrible.
posted by cashman at 5:49 PM on June 17, 2016


Going To Maine: I’ve been sating my desires for more content with RJD2’s old “Poorboy Lover Megamix”

On that note, one question for you: your face or your kneecaps? (Discogs has the tracklist!) Or if you want some "vintage" sampladelic tracks, Rain and Find You Out, the final unmixed tracks are pretty great.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:16 PM on June 17, 2016




GET HYPE

That's vintage Avalanches that I was craving. Between these three tracks (new, mellow and throwback), I am super stoked for the album.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:34 PM on June 22, 2016 [1 favorite]




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