A year and a day ago I started this blog. While I had intentions to finish the process in a year, it hasn’t quite worked out, but that’s ok. I think it’s all for the better, because I have been allowed to digest all the music that I have listened to. So far I have listened to and reviewed 102 of the 200 albums, which is pretty good all things considered. Maybe this is a two-year project. Whatever, I have had a lot of fun, opening my mind to artists, albums, songs, and styles I might not have considered before.
Today’s entry covers an Australian band I had never heard before but whose album is high on the list, the Avalanches. Originally a noise-punk outfit way back in 1994, the band’s sound has evolved into electronic music, built off samples and occasionally musical instruments. The core members have been Darren Seltmann, Robbie Chater, and Tony Diblasi, with assists from other musicians on their recordings throughout the years. Chater and Seltman were perusing a junk shop for instruments when they happened upon a collection of old vinyl records. When one of their founding members was deported, Seltman and Chater decided to take the band in a different direction, one more based on techno and alt dance than on noise rock.
The Avalanches released a few singles and EPs prior to the release of their only studio album released, Since I Left You (2000). This album was the culmination of several years refining their sound and performing live. This record is the subject of this entry.
# 28 – The Avalanches, Since I Left You (Metascore = 89)
The most notable aspect of this record is the breadth of the samples used. Robbie Chater claims that there are over 3,500 samples from different records that comprise Since I Left You. Chater and Darren Seltmann built these songs through trading tapes, listening to the other’s ideas and expanding on the sound. This continuous loop of ideas results in a very eclectic yet accessible record.
The title track is a great example of this synthesis. The song has a classic Motown vibe to it but cannot clearly be tied to one specific song. The listener’s ears are enveloped with sounds coming from both speakers, and you can tell how meticulously Seltmann and Chater worked to develop this song along with all of the other songs on the record. Their attention to detail and to making each sample and sound work with the other keeps the songs cohesive.
The record keeps a relatively even pace through the opening 4th, keeping with the early Motown I mentioned before. Starting with “Avalanche Rock”, the pace becomes quicker and shifts samples to more rap and disco. If you listen closely, you will hear samples from the likes of Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, and Camp Lo. You’ll even hear a sample of Billy Boyo, a Jamaican reggae MC. In this group the songs are good though not nearly as tight as the first fourth.
“Electricity” starts the next section, a more subdued section in terms of sound. It is built off samples from Daft Punk and Blowfly. This side features more sound effects, mostly from movies and TV shows. There also is a lot more noticeable scratching on this side than on the previous two. I would characterize this side as sounding more ambient. In fact, the last half of the record builds off this mellower mood, which to me detracts from the overall record. This is a record that took off in the beginning and maintained that momentum into the second act only to fall off in most of the final half. Only with “Live at Dominoes” does the pace pick back up to an appropriate ending for a fantastic record.
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