The Avalanches: We Will Always Love You

- The Avalanches are something of an anomaly in the world of sample-fuelled composition; a genuine mystique surrounds the Melbournians in a way that is somewhat unusual in the largely character-less world of electronic music. From seemingly out of nowhere came their seismic debut Since I Left You back in 2000. A few remixes aside, this was followed by a radio silence only broken by 2016’s psychedelic extravaganza Wildflower. New album We Will Always Love You now arrives some four years after its widely lauded predecessor and a personal journey by band member Robbie Chater that culminated in the producer/composer having to face his addictions and take positive action.

It was no doubt a considerable blow to an outfit already known for lengthy gestations between releases and yet, despite all odds, here is their most expansive album to date. There are twenty-five songs over seventy-one minutes that even manage to make the most of their all-star cast of vocalists, where less gifted artists may have found themselves overshadowed by the celebrity guest spots. Wisely, The Avalanches use the vocals in a similar textural manner as they do their samples. The possible exception is the Rivers Cuomo feature on Running Red Lights which takes the form of a light, peppy pop song.

The volume of songs and sprawling length of the album is almost a ruse, because even the shortest interludes on the record have historical and emotional purpose. The ten-second Star Song. IMG is a quick love letter to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a hive of ‘60's electronic experimentalism that surely planted the seed for The Avalanches and other similarly adventurous sound makers. Even more poignant is the interstitial Dial D For Devotion, in which Karen O recites lyrics from the late David Berman of Silver Jews (who himself appeared on Wildflower). Berman is something of a muse for the record, as rapper Pink Siifu also recites his lines in the aforementioned Running Red Lights.

Naturally, the longer compositions also unravel a lot of new ideas for The Avalanches. Largely absent is the hook-filled plunderphonics of their previous two albums. Wildflower may have updated their sound for a new era, but it also maintained a sense of warmth through its woody, analogue feel that perfectly suited its futuristic-yet-nostalgic homage to psychedelic rock.

We Will Always Love You is a more complicated record, created in the aftermath of a near band implosion and the healing that followed. It’s a fragile yet determined collection of songs that also plugs into contemporary digitalism in exciting and adventurous ways.

Always Black and Music Is The Light have spidery drum patterns and contemporary nods to blissed-out hip hop and post-rock respectively. Of course, the group haven’t completely abandoned their skill at basing a fantastic hook around a sample. This is evident in We Go On, in which vocals are traded between soul man Cola Boyy and The Clash/Big Audio Dynamite hero Mick Jones, though the hook comes from an expertly placed sample of ‘60's orchestral pop classic Hurting Each Other.

Different in both mood and texture to anything they have done before, We Will Always Love You is the perfect Avalanches record for these times – it paints a vivid picture of the current musical landscape, but has the guts to navigate more challenging and unknown terrain. On first listen, it may seem unwieldy and even undisciplined, but a few listens on headphones reveals that even the most distant, echoing sample is deliberately and perfectly placed. The Avalanches are to the modern production era what Joe Meek and Brian Wilson once were to theirs.

- Matt Thrower.
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