The Avalanches – Since I Left You (2000)

October 17, 2020

My introduction to the world of plunderphonics happened the best part of 20 years ago, when The Avalanches’ ridiculously catchy “Frontier Psychiatrist” was all over the TV and radio. I didn’t really understand back then exactly what it was that was going on, but The Avalanches stood out to me as whacky and different, even alongside other big electronic acts dominating at the time, like Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers.

Unfortunately, that lead single set the bar extremely high. Since I Left You as a whole is an incredible piece of work; the effort and dedication piled into creating these seamless sound collages is mind boggling, but I find that the album goes everywhere and nowhere all at once. At times, there appears to be no direction or purpose, or any reasoning behind the marrying of certain samples into a coherent “song” other than the fact that they happen to fit together. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this, especially in this kind of genre, I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed with the journey here. Maybe next time I really want to listen to something, I shouldn’t put it off for 20 years. Fuck, I’m old.