The release of a new Avalanches album is never a trifling matter.
With their debut 2000 album Since I Left You, the Australian electronic act let loose into the world a masterpiece. A peerless, timeless work, its creators meticulously sewed thousands of vinyl samples from the likes of Françoise Hardy, Sérgio Mendes, Raekwon, Wayne and Shuster, and even Madonna.
Fast-forward a quarter century, Since I Left You sits in a class of all-time classics. Fresh as a field of daisies.
Then, the “difficult second album.” The Avalanches recorded and rejected the followup. Years went by without a peep, save for the score to the King Kong stage musical and a batch of remixes.
When their full-length sophomore collecting Wildflower finally bloomed, 16 long years had passed. Wildflower went straight to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
A third album travelled at comparative light-speed in 2020, We Will Always Love You, and later scooped the coveted Australian Music Prize, for the best album of the year.
Now led by Robbie Chater, Tony Di Blasi and Andy Szekere, The Avalanches rumble on with their fourth studio effort No Bad Memories. It’s an album stacked with tracks (31 of them) and guests, including Karen O, John Glacier, Jamie xx, Barry Can’t Swim, Rivers Cuomo and Mike Patton.
No Bad Memories (via Modular Recordings/Universal) explores “the magical intersection of advertising, memory and nostalgia,” reads a statement accompanying the project, “examining how jingles, sonic logos, commercials and the sounds of technology quietly embed themselves in our lives, becoming inseparable from the memories they soundtrack.”
Sonically, it’s a joy. With bounce and soul. The Avalanches manage to harness the energy of a litter of Pomeranians.
“Our album No Bad Memories is out in the world today,” reads a statement from the act. “We’re beyond grateful for the endless enthusiasm and love our music receives after all this time. Thank you for taking the time to listen, we hope you enjoy it.”
Timing out at 52 minutes, No Bad Memories is accompanied by a music video for “I Give Everything I Have 2 U” featuring Loaded Honey. Haley Joel Osment stars in the visual, shot by cinematographer Andrés Arochi (Long Legs) on location in Tokyo.
“Working with our friend Haley on the visual for this song was such a thrill,” The Avalanches say of the Sixth Sense actor. “A one-take scenario with Haley trying to navigate the Shibuya traffic, a huge camera strapped to the outside of his windshield is not a bad memory indeed!”
Avalanches dates are coming up in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia, followed by a tour of Australia in early 2027.
Stream No Bad Memories and watch the music video for “I Give Everything I Have 2 U” below.