The Avalanches - Since I Left You

MINE

YourZ was absolutely gobsmacked earlier this year when we were sitting up late one night and the video for Frontier Psychiatrist came on, and I was thrilled because I'd never seen it.  The video is truly amazing (as you'd expect) but I didn't need to see it before buying this album practically as soon as it came out.

It's a work of art, and if you don't own it, I'd want to ask you why.  And re-listening to it in the car recently, I discovered it's a perfect driving album.  Each song slips seamlessly into the next, and all you want to do is listen to the whole thing with the windows wide open, enjoying the scenery slipping past.

I also had fun trying to identify some of the samples, but of course with some 3,500 on the album this is like trying to identify individual pieces of 3,500 jigsaw puzzles in one box.  It'll still put a smile on your face, though.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ


There is no doubting this is one of the best examples of sampling there is and, as Mine says, a work of art. Overwhelming in concept and genius in its execution, it posed one of the biggest musical questions of the last decade - where do The Avalanches go from here?  Now ten years old (fuck, can you believe it?), this epic hasn't aged in the slightest and probably never will.

If you've never heard this and have any inclination, don't doubt yourself - you will love it.  Sure, you can try and train-spot if you like, but my recommendation is sit back and listen and prepare to be amazed.  Either that or get up off your couch and dance.  Either way, it will be good for you.

Now, where is the next album, fellas?

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.theavalanches.com/