The Avalanches

As of today we're exactly four weeks from the 20th anniversary of Since I Left You, and they still haven't finalised the release date for the 10th anniversary deluxe reissue, or announced details of the super-deluxe package versions.

― edited for dog profanity (sic), Friday, October 30, 2020 6:40 PM (one week ago)

WAIT HOLD UP

The original sleeve notes for the 2011 re-release, by Jockey Slut's John Burgess, were posted from his files. there are enough errors that this might not have made it into the final release, at least in this form, but! BUT!!!

Somehow this 2011-planned tenth-anniversary reissue of a 2000-released album actually got pressed in 2017 - not just promoed, with a cover and shrinkwrap and everything - now with sleeve notes by Simon Reynolds - and still never came out. Someone sold a copy on eBay in March, for just $250 - presumably since nobody previously knew it existed, no fans had searches saved for it...

Not all the initially-announced remixes ended up on it, but here's the rundown for the bonus discs, with new/unreleased tracks in bold.

LP 3:

1. Since I Left You (Cornelius Remix)
2. Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life (Edan Remix)
3. Frontier Psychiatrist (Mario Caldato Jr.'s 85% Remix
4. Close To You (Sun Araw Remix)
5. Since I Left You (Stereolab Remix)
6. Flight Tonight (Canyons Travel Agent Dub)
7. Radio (Sinkane Remix)

LP 4:

1. Since I Left You (Prince Paul Remix)
2. Electricity (Harvey's Nightclub Re-edit)
3. Summer Crane (Black Dice Remix)
4. Extra Kings (Deakin Remix)
5. Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life (MF DOOM Remix)
6. Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life (Dragged by Leon Vynehall)
7. A Different Feeling (Carl Craig's Paperclip People Remix)
8. Thank You Caroline (Original Avalanches Demo Tape)

what the actual fuck

never knew about the Harvey electricity edit

similarly, I thought the Prince Paul one was new until I checked Discogs. the Stereolab one was done for the reissue, but sort-of released online in 2011 (linked upthread by me back then!) so not new any longer, even though it still hasn't actually come out.

huh I thought the stereolab remix came out back in 01 or 02?

I want to hear all these remixes about 1000x more than I want to hear the new album lol

oh yeah oops, it was that they'd supposedly lost the master by 2011, so posted a vinyl rip on soundcloud as a teaser for the deluxe

I'll take the Black Dice remix if no one else wants it

I’m 50/50 on the Stereolab remix. The sort of interlude feels out of place and is not that good to begin with, and ideally I would have added Sadier singing either the original vocal sample or completely new lyrics.

The remix sounds like it’s got a really good thing going on but it needed further work, imho. Can’t blame the deadline on this one.

Haven’t heard any other remixes, are they all available somewhere?

Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life (Dragged by Leon Vynehall)

oh shiiii

Haven’t heard any other remixes, are they all available somewhere?

I mean, you can see how well the attempt to collect half of them is going so far...

(there were also remixes of Electricity by DJ Sneak and by Herbert as Dr Rockit, of A Different Feeling by Ernest St Laurent, of Thank You Caroline by Andy Votel, and the Avalanches did their own re-edit of the Paperclip People remix that's half as long & at the original tempo.)

more non-album new music: a The Avalanches feat. Perry Farrell track from an upcoming Perry Farrell box set (youtube audio-only link)

Not sold on most songs released so far but “take care in your dreaming” really works for me.

the perry farrell track is on the album actually

Looks like either half of it is (I'm assuming the Avs album is a continuous segued mix), or a different version?

Anyway now that Melbourne's allowed to go outside, here's Robbie and Tony live at the planetarium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evju5Sa-NPk

(with Leon Bridges live in a studio in Texas)

ah, i hadn't seen the track times for the album yet

(I had to check a bunch of sites to get details, but Apple Music has it at 2:18 vs 3:44 for the Farrell-uploaded version)

Looks like this is out in Australia? Getting good reviews

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/the-avalanches-review-we-will-always-love-you-b1768055.html

https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/reviews/albums/the-avalanches-we-will-always-love-you-album-review

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/avalanches-we-will-always-love-you-1099906/

halfway through my first listen and i'm really pleasantly surprised how good it is. much better than wildflower

i was not expecting kurt vile kinda rapping?

Less interesting than Wildflower, IMHO. Hard to compare really, as it's so much more floaty and smooooth, pretty much exactly as preview tracks have hinted.

Has anyone grumbled about their guest appearance being so fleeting? lol. eg. Karen O's 30-second recitation of the same David Berman verse as Pink Siifu's.

it's a much more cohesive whole than wildflower was and i definitely prefer the spacey soul/disco sound pallet of this one to wildflower's psych-pop/hip hop.

It's growing on me!

Also totally approve of their use of the Arecibo message. Even raised it with some fellow [though oblivious-to-the-Avalanches] nerds this morning. :)

the real highlight here is "the divine chord"

I feel like ...did they really need Johnny Marr for "The Divine Chord? There's almost no guitar on it and it's super basic.

Listened to this once through. Got bored halfway. There's some parts I like, some parts I don't (choir, possibly of the child variety; Kurt Bile; Rivers Cuomo). I'd read ufo's post beforehand, was liking a track and was hoping it wasn't "Divine Chord" because if that was the highlight I figured I'd be in for an underwhelming listen. Turned out to be the case. I can't see wanting to listen to it much again. Don't think there's any other conclusion for me personally other than SILY was lightning in a bottle and I'm glad it exists and if I ever want to listen to The Avalanches, that'll be the one. Maybe a stray track from the other albums too.

Lol auto correct to Kurt Bile

I've had "Reflecting Light" echoing around head overnight. Which I'm taking as a positive.

One thing I wish they'd worked on is the segues from track to track. I suspect I'd be digging it more with the relatively seamless transitions of a SILY. Some of the more inconsequential-on-their-own interludes risk interrupting the flow rather than building cohesion when they fade to (near-) silence each time. (Admittedly I say this about a LOT of LPs. LOL. And some of this might even be an artifact of Spotify listening, but certainly not all of it.)

this is a wonderful background record for playing cards

the segues are a lot better than on wildflower. it's not entirely a seamless sily-style mix but it doesn't seem like they're ever going to do something like that again

I'm not ready to say I hate this record, but there are too many generic electronica moments. I like Wildflower much more, for sure.

Title track just seems like an awkward childish pastiche of sounds. Distasteful

It makes me just want to listen to The Roches.

I was watching a fantano video a few weeks ago in which his followers sent him their favorite albums of all time and found it surprising that Wildflower was in several lists. I knew it was well regarded, but saying it’s a “best of all time” album seems excessive. It’s not even the best album of 2016.

To each their own.

I still agree that Dj Koze’s Amygdala and Knock Knock are comparable and possibly better albums.

Most of it is ok for background music, and has a dreamlike flow which I like, but I agree that it has many distasteful decisions thrown in there.

listening now, finally. this is basically a gorillaz album.

a tasteful one, though, with a more interesting array of collaborators.

I'm not feeling it... yet.

makes me wish they did a proper disco album and an ambient album

man this record is awesome

listening now, finally. this is basically a gorillaz album.

― la table sur la table (voodoo chili),

Yeah, I came here to post that this is basically my favourite Gorillaz album.

i remain suspicious of jamie xx but "wherever you go" -> "music makes me high" is my favorite part of this record, total euphoria

i also really enjoyed wildflower though, the avalanches are good

Wildflower had some really amazing songs. I don’t hate this one but nothing in it shines for me in the same way that Colours, If I was a folkstar, subways, because I’m me, stepkids... all did.

Maybe I need to listen to it in a different frame of mind. This year I’m not feeling this one.

this one feels more like a DJ mix of original music than an album of songs

i was hoping to hear something on the album that would top the tracks released pre-album, the experience i had with both SILO and wildflower.
not the case with WWALY, "red lights" and "music makes me high" remain the highlights, the latter grew on me a lot.
such pure joy. i want a full album of that.

There had better be an extended 12” mix of “Music Gets Me High,” criminal if not.

Interview mainly on the technical details of making the new album: https://www.musictech.net/features/interviews/the-avalanches-we-will-always-love-you/

They've finally moved to working in Pro Tools, and Andy from Midnight Juggies made the band (back) into a trio for this entire LP.

Just been listening to this the last few days, it's real nice. The back half especially is a nice continual flow, with some good hooks. Like, from "We Go On" onward. The front is good too, but more song-by-song variability.