If you're unfamiliar with The Avalanches, they're an Australian electronic music group who rose to prominence in the early 2000s with their debut album Since I Left You.
That record has since gone on to be synonymous with the plunderhphonic's music genre, which is when an artist uses recognized samples to create a "sound collage."
That's a long way to say that The Avalanches is a band that's really good at sampling. Arguably one of the best.
Their latest record, No Bad Memories, is their most expansive yet, and is also only their fourth album in 26 years. Not only that, the album is 31 tracks long, yet clocks in under an hour. It's a really wild piece of art, and at times might have too much going on. It makes for a fun journey, just not one I'm sure I would take often.
There are a lot of short, maybe even unnecessary interludes throughout. They are supposed to paint a picture of the world that No Bad Memories is trying to get across. They conjure up images where stress, anxiety and constant corporate product selling is on the menu.
I can't help but think that the album as a whole would have been stronger without so many interludes. This isn't new for The Avalanches either, their last record, We Will Always Love You, was structured similarly, but didn't feel quite as noticeable.
Interludes aside, there are some strong, very enjoyable songs on this album. Here are my highlights.
First, there's "Can't Get Over Losing You," which features Portraits of Tracy and is a must listen. What starts with some soulful samples morphs into a full blown dance track, with lyrics that elevate past normal dance music. This is a lively, upbeat song, and if you've never heard of The Avalanches it's a great introduction.
Next, there's "Highfield," which features Panda Bear and is a fun combination of the two bands' styles. It has the psychedelic vocal that listeners of Panda Bear will enjoy and the extravagant production of The Avalanches, with sounds you just can't place.
There's also "All The Time In The World," which features Rivers Coumo of Weezer. I'll admit that at first I thought it was going to be weird, but this is one of the best tracks on the record. It offers some seriously blissed out stuff that made me wonder what Weezer would have been if they took a left turn into dream pop territory.
Then you've got to listen to "One More Fantasy," which comes out of nowhere and features Carly Simon. This song's the equivalent of driving down a sundrenched highway with your radio blasting some '70s love song, feeling like no moment could possibly be better than the one you're experiencing right now. It's a lovely song, and when it ends you wish it would keep going.
As a whole, No Bad Memories is not a bad record, it's just overpopulated with filler. I really appreciated the ideas that were on display here and the loose storytelling throughout. If those filler moments had been cut in half and replaced with more tangible tracks this would, in my opinion, have been a contender for album of the year. Take the journey — see how you feel, you might get lost or you might find your new favorite record.