I don't think actually you are one of those insufferable assholes, but you kinda sound like one. People often accuse me of somehow chasing coolness with my musical opinions, but the truth is that I listen to anything and everything that makes my ears feel good. And honestly,
Since I Left You is pretty low on the list of albums that achieve that. To be completely honest with you, I think the album is given FAR too much critical praise. I think there are countless groups that are more deserving of the love that has been bestowed on Avalanches.
The Books, for one. Jesus, the fucking BOOKS did so much more for the genre.
Caural.
Prefuse 73, who have continued release gem after gem — a career's worth of great records — in the time the Avalanches have been doing nothing.
But still,
Since I Left You did make an impact back in 2001, and it helped usher in the "mash-up" era, which brought us "The Grey Album" and gave way to the modern hip-hop mixtape.
It was a pop stepping stone for sound collage, and sample-beat music, like
Endtroducing... and
Donuts (though to a downright feeble extent by comparison). I'm a fan of this kind of music and always have been, and I can hear bits of Avalanches in the work of current, fledgling beat enthusiasts like Pigeondust, KNXWLEDGE, and the like.
To be perfectly frank, I don't like their new single at all. Danny Brown is the only strong element of the track, which otherwise sounds like something the Propellorheads or Low-Fidelity All-Stars might have released in 1997. It's corny and lacks signs of growth or development.
STILL, though... A band doesn't have to be the best to be worth listening to. SILY had a casual coolness to it, and it's a strong record even if it's not the
Loveless of crate-digging records history seems to want it to be. I'm interested in hearing what comes next from the group. Hopefully it's not more of the "Frankie Sinatra" shit, but hey, it probably will be. And you're right that there's a good deal of myth-making that the culture engages in around these records.
But I'm interested in hearing what Avalanches will sound like after 16 years to reflect and reassess their music. This is an album that I will probably listen to right away just because it's going to be fascinating to see if they can re-brand (or just re-sell) themselves enough to hold make an impression, not only with those who have been waiting for the album for 16 years, but also of the kids and young adults who will be hearing the group for the first time.
It's either going to be a spectacular success or a spectacular failure. But I'm definitely excited to see how it all turns out.
Cause, y'know, my appreciation of music is so casual and "tenuous" that I don't know any better.
