What does it sound like?:
In one of the more unlikely comebacks of recent times, July this year saw our favourite antipodean sample-based groove merchants The Avalanches return with a new album, the first since their debut in 2000 (Since I Left You).
The most astonishing thing is just how much it sounds like business as usual. They’ve lost none of their magic touch, and haven’t tried to update their sound – this could easily have come out in 2001.
The idea of ‘sample based music’ might need a bit of context for the uninitiated. As you listen to Wildflower you might well hear bits and bobs from songs you recognise – there’s a bit of Admiral Halsey…. Isn’t that Fairport Convention?…. A children’s choir singing Come Together… How can they get away with this? Aren’t they just copying others peoples’ records? Well, yes. Yes they are. But think of it as collage and don’t worry about it. They’re re-contextualising, folks – recasting old sounds in a new sonic landscape. It all flows seamlessly though – you won’t spot the joins, and it’s almost impossible to tell the samples from the original sounds.
The cover is a cheeky rip off of Sly’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On. The band are quite blatant about where they’ve stolen from, sharing their influences on their Twitter and Facebook posts.
It’s a lot harsher than Since I Left You. That album was for parties, this album’s for introspection. It’s music made for headphones, a bubbling, psychedelic road trip of warm, nostalgia-inducing creaminess.
Over four sides of vinyl, a vague, almost prog-like thematic shape emerges. Side One frontloads things with the most immediate, disco sounding tunes (‘Because I’m Me’ sounds most like the debut album, a euphoric Jackson Five style groover). Side Two kicks off with the dreamy Colours (you know that lovely Burt Bacharach theme to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? That, backwards. And it’s beautiful) and then goes full on Sesame Street. Sides Three and Four take you into some undiscovered woozy easy listening world, ending things with Saturday Night Inside Out, a kind of beat poetry statement of intent (‘I inaugurate the night with a little weirdness…’) over a stomping rhythm.
The magpie nature of sample based music is now a commonplace thing. But with Wildflower, The Avalanches have proven you can rise above novelty and create something immensely moving.
After about 200 listens, I’m still getting my head round it and it’s still my favourite LP this millenium so far.
What does it all *mean*?
I guess it means that, even if you start from a position of acknowledging that all the great music is in the past and the golden age is long gone, you can still create beautiful art from plundering records great and obscure. The history of recorded music is a sweet shop ripe for the taking.
Goes well with…
Walking around the deserted streets of Costa Adeje in the cool dawn breeze. That’s how I first listened to it, and it was a sublime experience.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
The Orb, Royksopp, The Beach Boys, Ennio Morricone, John Barry.
200 listens? Crikey. Agree about the front-loading; I’ve only had this a little while and have probably only heard it four or five times so far. The more immediate stuff at the beginning is all that’s stayed with me as yet, with the rest kind of just washing over me. I’m looking forward to the remainder sinking in over subsequent listens. No hurry.
Go for side three. Wozard of Iz is genius.
Loved the first album. Absolutely hated that Frankie Sinatra Jive Bunny bollocks with a passion. That is such a massive, stinking turd of a tune – if I’m lucky I’ve got another 30-40 years on this planet and I’m not going to waste another second on these- if during that period medical science discovers the secret of immortality I will still do my best to avoid this record.
I really don’t get the hate for Frankie Sinatra. It’s a fun pop record, that’s all. I like it, and I think the rest of this album is trememdous. As per the above, the deeper you get into it the more pastoral, gauzy and otherworldly it becomes.
Frankie Sinatra is not very representative of the rest of the album, if that helps.
Dr.Volume’s comments show just how different we all are. Frankie Sinatra is my absolute favourite song on the album – it is a huge slab of fun and I found myself dancing around the room singing ‘ooh Frankie Sinatra’ like a nutter.
Definitely one of the brighter albums released this year in terms of feel good factor.
Not my favourite, but I like it a lot. Can’t see what’s not to like about a calypso/hip hop pop tune, especially with some oompah style brass! Erm, okay, I suppose I can…
Haha, fair play Steve. It’s definitely a Marmite record but it’s unforgivable as far as I’m concerned.
Of course, the world don’t move to the beat of just one drum….
Yes I’m with @Dr_Volume on the sheer naffness of Frankie Sinatra – it’s lazy bullshit akin with that advert that a dance mix of Singin In The Rain. A plague on all their houses.
I adore Since I Met You but wont go near this because of that arse gravy. Is there a Special Edition that doesn’t include it? Is it the last track on one side of vinyl so I can mash it with a compass so the needle skips to the end?
What a great review Arthur. You should do more of them.
Why thank you.
Whether by accident or design, The Avalanches have built up a reputation as an important, cutting-edge band, but they’re not, they’re like Fatboy Slim with bigger memory cards in their samplers. Look at them in that context and ‘Frankie Sinatra’ fits right in.
Ouch! I quite like Fatboy Slim though….
Count yourself lucky – I have quite fond memories of Jive Bunny. Ouch!!
I prefer Hooked On Classics.
Yeah, sorry, reading that back it sounds unforgivably poncey. I like Fatboy and The Avalanches right enough. I guess I just don’t buy the idea that The Avalanches are somehow more, you know, ‘important’ than anyone else with a sampler.
Hooked On Clapping, more like!
That’s a step too far (even for me).
@arthur-cowslip and others may be rather excited by this:
Should come out in next decade on previous form
The word is it could be as early as next year. I hope so.
I love it when an old Nights In gets revived.
Am listening to Wildflower now. Still marvellous.
Saw that. Yeah, very excited.
I saw the band live last month as well and have been meaning to write a live review – but haven’t got round to it. Short version – mixed feelings, high on atmosphere, low on live chops.
Cos, surprise, I dislike The Avalanches intensely I thought this was a new review and that Johnny C was back in the room! Disappointment all round.
Oooh – I remembered to go back to this album because of this revival post – thank you so much – what a wonderful record, I shall devour this over the coming days as my decorating project progresses