The Avalanches
Since I Left You

THE REVIEW

...or: if the world were better, this album should have topped all the charts instead of so much fluff that is presented by the major label of the moment. The Avalanches are Australian and are a collective of 6 DJs with diverse influences, who managed in the year 2000 to produce this small, yet unfortunately underrated, marvel called "Since I Left You". I call it a marvel because it is entirely based on samples (mind you, what really stands out is that they are clearly recognizable) but it manages to be truly organic and complete, more so than many other "played" albums. I am still wondering how they managed, starting from the most improbable samples, to put together what I consider perhaps the perfect example of modern "pop", an album not so easy but that can be listened to all in one breath and is capable of putting a smile back on your face even after the worst of days.
The samples used are all cited within the album (also, beautiful packaging...) and range from "Holiday" by Madonna (!) to Kid Creole & The Coconuts, from Peter Gabriel to the Cure, to mention the most striking and unexpected, and they are all proudly unpolished from the vinyl crackle and blended with almost moving passion.

A fundamental characteristic of the Avalanches that makes me admire them unconditionally is that they know how not to take themselves too seriously without falling into silliness and excess, managing to compose small masterpieces like "Extra Kings" (which sounds like Air to which a particularly good but short-lived acid suddenly kicks in, with a subsequent down...), "A Different Feeling" (the best Daft Punk song not written by Daft Punk), "Electricity" (a micro electro symphony, the ideal soundtrack for a movie that talks about a love story set in 2100), "Tonight May I Have To Last Me All My Life" (which brings back the smoky atmospheres of '30s jazz clubs), "Frontier Psychiatrist" (like the most western Morricone remixed by Dj Shadow, with sampled vocals from who knows where...). But the rest is no less, the level of the entire album is high and absolutely worth listening to... highly recommended to listen because, even if at first glance it might seem like something already heard, with continuous listening it is possible to find always new and unexpected details, small touches of class thanks to which you can realize how sometimes the simplest things can also be the most ingenious.

It would be a 4.5 but I give it a nice 5 also because it is an album I'm particularly fond of...