Trust and believe, in my books, The Avalanches take the cake for some of the best sampling I’ve ever heard done by any artist (yes beating out Kanye).
Their first album, Since I Left You, released in 2000 remains one of my favourite albums of all time, focused on heavy sampling to create the backbone of their sound. Making them sonically unique to anything else. Yes, I know I wasn’t alive yet, but when you’ve been listening to music almost at every hour of the day and this album on repeat as much as I have, you can start to pinch a few of the samples they’ve put in each song (except Frontier Psychiatrist, there is WAY too many in there to pluck them all)
FUN FACT! There is nearly 3,500 samples across the whole record.
It look me 3 or 4 goes if this album to truly register the story T.A were trying to convey. As the album begins, we get the title track “Since I Left You” with a sunny upbeat tune, with the only real line in the song being “Since I left you, I found a world so new”. But, the big BUT, they do a fantastic job at sampling;
- Let’s do the Latin Hustle by Klaus Wunderlich -1976 (2:05)
- The Sky’s the Limit by the Duprees – 1968 (0:01)
- Everyday by The Main Attraction – 1967 (0:37, 0:29, 0:50)
The amount of sampling on this track is genuinely insane, and deserves all the credit, all the shine.
One thing to note with this album is that it is sonically cohesive, so it technically sounds like one VERY long song if you play it the whole way through (which is a common attribute of the avalanches albums).
Songs like “Stay another Season” and “Radio” shift the main tone of the song being an upbeat dance hit, while the lyrics continue to convey a different message, “Sometimes you don’t understand” and “Is it as good? Understand” . Most likely looking back on a previous relationship, feeling glad they left and realising your partner didn’t really understand you. The album seems to have this feature of the story being a full-circle experience. Now to be quite honest putting the dots together listening to the whole album and finally getting the picture, I did feel a bit silly. The lyrics didn’t really register too much, until I sat down, put the album on and gave it a hard listen.
“Since I Left You” originally to me was a great pop album with some fun samples I picked up on, being quite similar to “Play” by Moby in the quality of sampling, primarily “Porcelain”, having many layers of sampling to create a masterpiece. But moving deeper into the album with tracks 4-7 being “Two hearts in 3/4 Time”, “Avalanche Rock”, “Flight Tonight” & “Close to You”, we start to sweat out that relief of a past relationship, and we move into the “party” phase of a break up with the lines “Glass got me right” and “Don’t stop to the midnight”. Where you potentially realise you may miss this ex, and you don’t realise it yet, so partying can be a vice to help block that feeling out.
“Diners only” and “A Different Feeling” mark the phase of a break up where you find out your ex is meeting someone new, while you’re stuck on the past and *still* partying, like “Got the bubbly pouring through me” and “Tammy’s in love, If I’m wrong to care”. “Tonight” to me, registers as the calm before a storm. Similar to a drunk walk home in the dark, where you’re feeling all of your emotions bubble up at the same time. Soon to burst open, and unleash the emotional pain you’ve been avoiding coming to terms with because you’ve been partying, pushing it down, and praying. We hear this in “Pablo’s Cruise” where it begins as a soft continuation of “Tonight”, however toward the end we get a small glimpse of the sound of a stampede horses hooves galloping, and the sound of a carousel. The storm.
“Frontier Psychiatrist” – among one of the most popular on the album, and for good reason. The song opens with “That boy needs therapy, purely psychosomatic” and continues with lines like “You’re a nut, you’re crazy in the coconut, what does that mean?” signifying the point where, it’s time to get therapy because things are getting a little out of hand. However, the word “psychosomatic” by definition; refers to physical symptoms or illnesses that are caused, triggered, or worsened by mental or emotional factors like stress, anxiety, or depression. I rest my case.
We move into “Etoh” & “Summer Crane”, Etoh to me sounds like the kind of transition period where you’re still feeling like garbage, but know you’re on the right path, and in Summer Crane it feels like the sunny feeling we first encounter at the beginning of the record is on its way back, but you’re still having small hiccups, which is normal. This is solidified in the lines “et j’ai froid un nuit” – meaning “and i’m cold one night” , and “excusez moi ouais” – excuse me, yes.
“Little journey” and “Live at Dominoes” signify that transition back into the warmth of summer, or even that summer free of care feeling, where the composition of “Little Journey” is slow and steady, as it moves into the upbeat and very noticeable sample of “Ma baker” by Boney M. (Not complaining whatsoever I LOVE me some Boney M.) The main line in “Live at Dominoes” is “The holiness of sound, that summer sound, sound.” However, as we progress to about 3:44, it starts to change tempo, very much similar to the start of the album in “Since I Left You” and “Radio”, As if something had happened to kill this happy-go-lucky mood. Perhaps seeing an ex?
“Extra Kings” confirms this, with a composition of strings that gives us a melancholy and almost 1950s-style orchestra reunion sequence, from an old movie. Where we get sample snippets from “Etoh”, then it quickly cuts out. What we’re left with is a sort of “happy ending” ambiance, where it feels like a new wave of relief and happiness. Only to get to the lyrics, and where the music shifts, back to our early album tempo, essentially realising you were happier with your ex. Lines like “I’m trying but I just can’t get you, Ever since the day I left you” on repeat. Almost feeling like a manifestation for this ex to hear them and to give them a sign.
Now, this album is one of my favourites for a reason. The story comes full circle at the end. Where in the beginning you’re glad you’ve left an ex, and the world of opportunities seems so new and you can’t wait to be free and be happy. Then looking back and realising they weren’t really worth jack, they didn’t understand you, but it’s okay, because the world has opened up to you and everything is great. That relief is keeping you going.
You’re out living life, partying, enjoying, but that feeling your ex has already moved on keeps creeping up on you, as you keep pushing it down, with more booze and vices. But the more you push it down the more is going to come back up, okay, maybe you need to go to therapy because this lifestyle isn’t suiting you and it’s in turn making you sick, as riding this wave of ego and “relief” isn’t doing much for the psyche.
Therapy seems to be working but you’re still feeling down and having those hiccups and down days, but over time, you feel better. This is seemingly short lived, as you catch wind of the ex or even see the ex again, all the feelings you previously had come back. You realise you should have never left them. A classic love story if you ask me.
I would definitely recommend this album, it’s summery and upbeat sounds blended with orchestral elements and the ongoing theme of the different stages of a break up. I think this is definitely one to add to your collection not only on music streaming services, but even to your record collection. I own a copy, it is wonderful to listen to through my stereo system. (sometimes I put it on when I clean and I can’t help but dance, and not clean 😉 )
This album works for dinner parties, summertime, cooking, cleaning, almost EVERYTHING. It’s a fabulous album and you should definitely be listening to it RIGHT NOW!
Happy listening xx
20.7.26
elo’s blog 
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