The Avalanches: Second Album
The Avalanches have been working on their second album since at least 2005. Seltmann had said that after starting out as “ambient world music”, the record was returning to more of a “party” sound. In August 2006, Modular Recordings issued a press release stating “it’s sounding like everything we dared not hope for, and so much more. They’ve made the record of their lives basically”.[19] This was in response to a joke email which had reached the music press, in which Modular claimed it had rejected The Avalanches’ new album.[20] In January 2007, the band stated via its website that roughly 40 tracks were being considered: “it’s so fuckin’ party you will die, much more hip hop than you might expect, and while there is still no accurate estimated time of arrival, were sure you’re gonna love it when it arrives. … it’s ended up sounding like the next logical step to since, we just had to go around in a big circle to get back to where we belong. and one day when you least expect it you’ll wake up and the sample fairy will have left it under your pillow”.[21] Subsequent announcements were made of the album’s release, however, it has not appeared.[22]
In July 2011 shortly after Since I Left You had been announced No. 9 in the Triple J Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time, The Avalanches posted on their Facebook “Thanks to all who voted. Tune in now to hear Robbie speak about the making of Since I Left You on triple j. Info on new Avalanches material to follow shortly”. The Avalanches later announced that Since I Left You would be re-released as a deluxe edition, which would include the original album as well as B-sides, remixes and several unreleased tracks. By December, the band’s Twitter page had released lyrics to a new song, “The Stepkids”, but the second album’s title and exact released date were not confirmed.[22] In January 2012, American musician Jennifer Herrema revealed that she had worked with the Avalanches on the album.[23] In March, American rapper Danny Brown confirmed that he was working with the group on a track entitled “Frank Sinatra”.[24] A collaboration with American recording artist Ariel Pink has also been confirmed.[25] On 21 August 2012, a demo of a new track entitled “A Cowboy Overflow of the Heart” was released. The song features American musician David Berman reading a poem he composed over music by The Avalanches.[26]
