Following an unprecedented sixteen-year gap between albums and all the revolutions the world has made since the release of their hugely acclaimed, award winning debut album Since I Left You (2000), The Avalanches release their new album Wildflower.
Created by the band’s core duo – Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi – Wildflower is nothing less than The Beach Boys’ Smile reimagined in the Daisy Age – a mind-bending cartoon road movie that’s best viewed with closed eyes and an open mind.
The first single Frankie Sinatra draws from a variety of eras, cultures and genres, and exemplifies the rich tapestry of samples and sonics that is distinctly The Avalanches. An infectious old world carnival inspired rollercoaster of a song – featuring Danny Brown and MF Doom on vocals, the song also includes works by calypsonian Wilmoth Houdini and Rodgers & Hammerstein.
The video for Frankie Sinatra was directed by Fleur & Manu (Drake, A$AP Rocky, M83, Movement, Canyons, Skrillex) and shot on location in the bayou of New Orleans, drawing inspiration from southern swamp culture. Follow the tripped out adventures of the carny locals at the county fair as they consume hallucinogenic ice-cream and lose control of reality.
In the years since the release of Since I Left You , the album has established a rarely seen loyalty, its influence ever growing in the age of digital music, sampling and bedroom producers. The Avalanches, meanwhile, have become the stuff of folklore, with rumours abounding about a long awaited follow-up record. Well, today that rumouring ends…