16 years ago, The Avalanches released "Since I Left You". Since then it's become one of the most beloved and influential electronic albums ever. Listening to it still to this day is an experience, as The Avalanches dive deeply into the world of samples to create truly incredible new dance/electronic. However, The Avalanches know how to keep their fans waiting, as they've apparently been working on this album on and off since 2005. Rumors here, reunions there, I never thought this album was gonna come out. But would ya look at that, here we are in 2016 with a brand new Avalanches record. And yes I'm very aware this review's pretty late, but so was this album man! Lets start this bad boy shall we.
As far as the intro to “Wildflower”, honestly I don’t really have that much to say. “The Leaves Were Falling” is only seconds long, and consists solely of sound effects of what seems to be someone trying to find a radio station to listen to. It’s kinda cute, but that’s all I have to say. On the other hand as soon as this track is over, The Avalanches explode into the gigantic “Because I’m Me”. This track is beyond huge, it has a very distinct vintage flair, but it’s far from full of itself. It takes a bit to get going, but the moment that it does it’s just such a wonderful, feel good moment. The horns are triumphant, and Camp Lo’s contributions here go over very smoothly. “Because I’m Me” is one to get you up and get you moving clearly. But more than anything it’s a wonderful display of the overall feeling of this album. “Wildflower” is far from “Since I Left You”, it’s much peppier and cheery. Not to mention, the nostalgia feel on this track and most of the album for that matter is overwhelming. But The Avalanches pull it off well, blending their breezy styler of electronic music with some Neo-Psychedelic rock, as well as occasionally some Rap. The album cover is just as colorful and lifelike as most of the music on here. My only real issue right off the bat, and for most of the album, are these transitions. “Since I Left You” so many years ago sounded like one long, continuous experience. Some of the transitions on “Wildflower” seemingly take freakin’ forever and offer up a whole lot of nothing. Up next on the track list we have “Frankie Sinatra”, the first track released from this album. Now I’ve listened to “Frankie Sinatra” tons of times since it’s been released, and I can enjoy it now. But when I first heard it, I really didn’t know how to take it. It’s just a really strange track, especially in between these unbelievably colorful, semi-psychedelic electronic tracks. “Frankie Sinatra” has this weird, sort of Calypso, sort of twisted carnival theme to the entire track. And then we have the features, which totally add to just how bizarre it really is. First we have Danny Brown, who may just be my favorite rapper in the entire world right now. The utter insanity, highly animated verses, and strange voice that Danny has, really make this track more strange and darker than it already was. Then we have MF Doom also on this track, one of underground Hip Hop’s most legendary and mysterious voices on this one as well. “Frankie Sinatra” is completely unlike the rest of the album, but it’s funky and enjoyable. The rap verses actually blend well with the strange horns that pop in and out, but this one definitely sticks out like a sore thumb, and plenty of hardcore Avalanches fans aren’t going to dig this. Up next we have “Subways”, another of the earlier tracks released from the album. Funk is the name of the game here, and it is undeniable as this track begins. You literally never know what flavor of electronic music you’re going to hear next when diving into an Avalanches record, but that’s half the fun. “Subways” for example almost has a disco feel to it, this album here is gonna make you get up and move. As far as the sampling on these tracks so far, of course it’s solid, and it’s a spectacle within itself (Be honest, isn’t it just so freakin cool listening to some of these tracks and hearing a sample you recognize). “Subways” is just a solid dance tune, as far as going deep with samples it’s a little tame, but it’s solid. “Going Home” is up next, and it’s basically an extension of “Subways”, using the same chorus and other lyrics. It’s still very groovy and dance oriented, but at it’s core it’s just a glorified interlude, taking most of it’s content from the last track. That’s not a bad thing, but I would have much rather them made “Subways” an extra minute or so and added some of these extra layers, quotes, and effects on. There are some sweet ad-libs here to appreciate though, so it’s not all for nothing. Then we have “If I Was A Folkstar”. Right off the bat we’re dealing with some serious grooves again, this time with the inclusion of Toro Y Moi. This actually sounds like something Toro Y Moi would have done a few years ago, and honestly he fits in wonderfully. It’s very sunny, peppy, and it occasionally dips into a more psychedelic sound. But once again I feel like things took a little too long to get started, absolutely nothing happens the first minute or so on “If I Was A Folkstar”. Once that groove hits though it’s brilliant, so much so that I would call this one of my favorite tracks on the album. Toro Y Moi almost sounds a little too at home here, his contributions are absolutely adorable and fantastic. Moving on to another one of my favorite moments here, “Colours”. Now this is where the heavy Psychedelic Pop elements come in, and boy do they ever pull it off. “Colours” is easily the brightest, cheeriest track we’ve heard so far here (And that’s saying something). They almost sound like one of the seminal 90’s Psych Folk/Psych Pop bands, maybe The Olivia Tremor Control. That mostly comes to the hazy, sweet, dreamy vocals of Jonathan Donahue. His vocals here take the already sunny atmosphere here and makes it even more sunny and cheery. Just listening to tracks like this make me so happy, I wouldn’t have minded if this track was even longer.
Up next we have “Zap!”, and by this point in the album The Avalanches have thrown every rule in the book out the damn window and have shifted for a very weird album. “Zap!” is easily the strangest interlude we’ve heard yet, filled with all sorts of bizarre samples. There’s not much to dig into, but it’s oddly sweet for what it is. Next up is “The Noisy Eater”, and the more this album goes on and on, it reminds me more and more of The Olivia Tremor Control, but that’s just me. “The Noisy Eater” is probably the most bizarre track yet, featuring Biz Markee of all people. I mean if you’re looking for a novelty track look no further, this one isn’t epic, and it certainly isn’t “track of the album” status. However, it’s kinda cute and funny at parts. Honestly I can see kids eating this track up (No pun intended). The one real gripe I have with “The Noisy Eater” is that Beatles sample. I mean c’mon, you’re going to go through all the trouble to sample a Beatles track, “Come Together” at that, and you’re going to waste it on a novelty track like this? C’mon boys. Outside of that I don’t entirely hate it. Up next is “Wildflower”,another interlude that’s on the short side, quite a lot of those here. Once again though I don’t really have a lot to say about this one. The rhythms are haunting and all, but outside of that there’s really not much going on here. On the other hand, “Harmony” is absolutely stunning. The intro grabs you right away with lush string arrangements that compliment the beat wonderfully. “Harmony” compare to some of the weirder tracks here is just so bright and optimistic, how refreshing. The sampling on this one is just as solid as you could imagine, and the overall mood is just entrancing. The album itself as a whole has this bright sunny atmosphere that I can’t help but adore. There’s going to be people who don’t like this new, more psychedelic approach shown here by The Avalanches, but it’s so warm and inviting that I can’t say no. “Live a Lifetime of Love” doesn’t waste a single second, throwing you headfirst into the psychedelic atmosphere. The rap verses here by Paris Pershawn honestly fit in perfectly, and Ariel Pink’s contributions are solid as well (Of course, Ariel strives off this type of atmosphere). “Live a Lifetime of Love” isn’t the most memorable track here, but it absolutely adds to the undeniably feel good atmosphere of the album. Now while overall I haven’t really been into the interludes, “Park Music” surprisingly has quite a bit of bite to it. The rhythms here are dreamy, the atmosphere is deep, and everything from the almost goofy guitars to the swirling vocals are super sweet. THIS is what I expect from an Avalanches interlude. Then we have “Livin’ Underwater (Is Somethin’ Wild)”, and let me tell you, there may have been small psychedelic moments before, but this is the heaviest psychedelic feel we’ve had so far. It’s bizarre, it’s fuzzy, but it’s also very sweet and innocent. The strings here are gorgeous, and the light vocals are very playful, this one could have been longer though in my book. It’s still very enjoyable while it is here though.
The Avalanches aren’t done throwing curveballs at us just yet, up next is “The Wozard of Iz”. This one brings the funk back hard and there’s some serious bass in there, and everything about this beat is absolutely fantastic. It may be completely off the wall, but it’s also the most ear grabbing track I’ve heard in a while. Danny Brown is back for this one, and his ad-libs in the first minute or so are fairly memorable against the sunny feel of everything else on “The Wozard of Iz”. As Danny’s verse starts, things get even more airy and even more psychedelic rock influenced if you believe it. His verse, while it’s a little less animated and much more under control than usual, is done pretty damn effective. As a whole, “The Wozard of Iz” is brilliant. Up next we have another actually solid interlude in the form of “Over The Turnstiles”. Here, we have lush strings, and one of the most colorful atmospheres we’ve heard in a while. It’s 42 seconds long, but it’s a very enjoyable 42 seconds. “Sunshine” is up next, and that huge blast of nostalgia is back with an absolute vengeance. All of these vintage pop sounding instrumentals are just doing this album so many wonders. No pun intended, this is easily the sunniest track here, I can’t stress enough just how overwhelmingly happy and warm this album is. Everything on “Sunshine” is so uplifting, from the swirling keyboard melodies to the overpowering luscious strings. Yes, they could have gone a little deeper with the vocal sampling, but at this point in the album “Sunshine” is pretty much exactly what I wanted to hear. Brace yourselves boys and girls, we have a few really oddball tracks coming up. First we have the interlude “Light Up”, and let me just give a lukewarm welcome back to that freaky carnival feel from earlier. The vocal sampling here is solid and all, but this track overall is just weird. It’s easily the strangest track I’ve heard in a while, a little too weird, especially after the last few interludes had such personality. Then we have “Kaleidoscope Lovers”, the most psychedelic track here by far. However, thankfully as trippy as this gets, The Avalanches keep it fun and bouncy. “Kaleidoscope Lovers” though is very hard to keep track of. There’s plenty of great elements, but it just takes so long to get going, and when it does it just doesn’t sound nearly as streamlined as other tracks here. Jonathan Donahue is back for this one, and honestly his vocals are probably the most enjoyable element to this track. “Kaleidoscope Lovers” isn’t terrible, but I just expect so much more. “Stepkids” takes us right back to that heavy psych-pop sound of the 90’s, and it’s definitely more my speed. We’re back to a much bouncier and playful vibe, and while the vocal snippets are strange they fit in pretty well. While I do dig all of that though, I feel like “Stepkids” literally has no bite to it. Finally, we have the album’s outro “Saturday Night Inside Out”, which thankfully is much more straightforward and ten times more enjoyable. It’s strange and quirky, with an opening monologue from David Berman and one of the more bizarre instrumentals I’ve heard in a while. However, that all comes together nicely and makes a super interesting track. The samples make for a brilliant upbeat feel, while remaining just as sunny and epic as you’d expect. David Berman’s monologue pops back in and remains just as intriguing, with Father John Misty’s backing vocals adding to this incredible atmosphere. This is the outro I was hoping for.
Rating: 8.1/10
Give A Listen To: "Because I'm Me", "If I Was A Folkstar", "Colours", "Sunshine"
Overall Thoughts: "Wildflower" is absolutely different from "Since I Left You". After 16 years though, I had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised with this new more psychedelic sound, which I know isn't for everyone. I just find the much peppier, happier sound of The Avalanches to be incredibly interesting sound for them. Add that all with an intense feeling of Nostalgia and you've got quite the sound. However, a lot of the interludes here are often completely unnecessary. "Since I Left You" was so streamlined, it sounded like one long experience that was just incredible. "Wildflower" is a fantastic experience, but there are more than a few hiccups. However, they're really onto something with this new sound, and I hope I don't have to wait another 16 years to see how it evolves.
No comments:
Post a Comment