Electronic Downbeat & Hip Hop & Nu Rave Inc Free CD OF LP
In the 15-plus years since they released their masterpiece of sample-based electronica, Since I Left You, the Avalanches have been legendary ghosts kept alive by hopes, rumors, and memories of greatness compounded by a lack of anyone coming along to fill their shoes. With the release of 2016's Wildflower, the group stages a comeback that sadly falls short of expectations, but still ends up being a pretty good album anyway. In fact, if it hadn't been made by the Avalanches, it may even be a great album. The record is filled with their trademarks: heavy doses of summer sun so bright they seem to glisten more than shine, beats that seem to be constructed from bubblegum and rubber bands, samples that are witty and fit together like puzzle pieces. Kicking off with a track that sounds like part two of "Since I Left You," "Because I'm Me" seems headed for the same patch of nirvana when it is suddenly derailed by some rapping from Camp Lo that grounds the h