Since I Left You

10 Albums You Actually Need To Hear Before You Die Chapter 1: The Avalanches - Since I Left You I’ve always thought the term “plunderphonics” was a poor descriptor for The Avalanches’ music. It’s reductive and undermines the skill required to craft an album as captivating, detailed and unique as Since I Left You. Plundering implies recklessness and a disregard for history; something done with a lack of grace. Since I Left You is none of those things. It is a meticulously crafted record that, through sampling, nods to the past, while carving out a new way forward. Comprised of thousands of samples (the band has estimated anywhere from 900 to 3000 over the years), Since I Left You is a veritable encyclopedia of modern recorded music and sound: disassembled, then reconfigured to create something new and beautiful out of the already known. I first heard Since I Left You in the summer of 2002, stricken with mononucleosis. Tired of laying around at home, I went to Borders Books and Music to pick up the new Flaming Lips record “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” and see what other new albums had come in. I was familiar with Since I Left You, having read a review in Mojo Magazine a few months earlier. Their review, I believe, compared it to Paul’s Boutique, which I was a fan of, so it was a no-brainer when I saw it on the shelf that day. While the Paul’s Boutique comparison was apt, it didn’t prepare me for Since I Left You. If you could cram Paul’s Boutique inside of a kaleidoscope and spend a summer afternoon staring through it…that’s Since I Left You. Even though “Yoshimi” would end up getting more play on my stereo at the time, Since I Left You left an impression that continued to grow with each listen. Even now, some 20 years and countless listens later, I am in awe of it and find new details to appreciate. It is, in my opinion, one of the most important records of the 21st century, unrivaled in its creativity. Since I Left You is truly a masterpiece.

A big bright spring time party where all my mates are having a beautiful time. Complex and intricately layered without being hard to listen to. They somehow manage to capture a thousand textures and feelings in every song (eg Etoh). Love the foreshadowing of the horse neigh early on before it comes back on Frontier Psychiatrist (and all the reoccuring samples for that matter). Also love the vinyl crackle that permeates through the whole thing. And the intros and outros all seem to be incredibly well thought out and compliment the incoming tracks so well. They're all 5/5 songs but highlights have to be Radio, Two Hearts in 3/4 Time and Electricity (huge tune). Pablo's Cruise gets an honourable mention too, what a freaky track. Also.. 𝖆𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖊 𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖉𝖊 𝖇𝖗𝖆

I feel like one would need a belly full of E to really jam to this album. It's poppy without being catchy, edgy without being cool, eclectic without being interesting. It feels like some kids who were big fans of The Crystal Method tried their hands at something similar but missed the mark. It listens like a "nailed it" meme. The only thing saving this from a one-star review is the production being top-notch and because the track "Frontier Psychiatrist" is actually a really fun track for being a giant, jumbled sample-salad. It's about a minute too long but it's fun nonetheless.

If you enjoy repetitive samples, words, and scratching ad nauseam then this is for you. It's like being stuck on a washing machine with a broken record.

"Since I left you" is a staple and it paved the way for sample based instrumentals that ooze familiarity. This style of songwriting totally opened the door for this genre. If you enjoyed this, be sure to check out the artist "Dirty Art Club".

60mins of tedious samples and scratching. It’s exhausting

Plunderphonics is a unique genre for it's methodologies. By strictly using pre-existing music, artists will mix, match, and employ unconventional methods to create a whole new piece of art. Songs will be sliced and looped beyond recognition. It's an undertaking that requires insane production skills, as production becomes the songwriting in a way. If any album has mastered this art, it's Since I Left You. There are around 900 samples in this album. It is a feat. The Avalanches themselves said that they were crazy, and they wouldn't ever get that ambitious on future releases. That ambition is what makes Since I Left You so incredible though, as the samples envelop and keep you on a constant adventure of The Avalanche's perfectly-crafted sonic landscape. Loops ground each song and get built upon with more and more samples. They come from every which way, there's no use in following each thread as it's best to just ride the wave. The album art is a perfect representation of this feeling, I think. Thematically, The Avalanches leans into adventure through use of varying songs. As they all seamlessly transition from one to another, it's like crossing borders or biomes on your adventure. Track titles are indicative of this, with "Flight Tonight", "Pablo's Cruise", and "Little Journey". Worth nothing they had to re-record their big hit "Frontier Psychiatrist" because of samples not clearing (I'd imagine other songs got the same treatment). I encourage you to seek out the song on YouTube because it's a classic. Anyway. This is an amazing album. I can't stress enough how much I adore the thing. Just so consistently well-made throughout the runtime and brimming with good times.

Since I Left You makes up for its lack of obvious stand out tracks with impeccably perfect song transitions, catchy rhythms that are equally great for daydreaming as they are partying, and eclectic sample choices which give it that weird mysterious edge. Within these songs is a creative world, barely out of reach, with life and texture. It's like musical cinema or a gripping book. It's not perfect but it's worth getting lost in its suspense, romance, and overall joie de vivre. A worthy classic imo. Probably most appealing to EDM fans or very nerdy hip-hop fans as it has that DJ Shadow feeling.

Oh dear. I hate repeated vocal samples. Frontier Psychiatrist used to make me want to break my radio. This might hurt... First album I can't actually listen to. So annoying. Good loops, but that horse sample and the same word 1,000 times just sounds moronic.

I have a lot of pre-existing fondness for this album - takes me back to end of uni / just graduated times. The title track was definitely the soundtrack of a summer around then. It's just a fantastic melange of samples whirled together to produce some wonderful pop. I still really dig it! Fave track - this is one of those albums where picking fave tracks makes less sense, as the way everything segues together is part of the magic. "Frontier Psychiatrist" should get a mention for the fantastic music video. "Radio" is a highlight, as is "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time" as is "Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life" Awesome stuff.

This was the album that singlehandedly changed my mind on the ethics and artistic merit of sampling, and one of the 5 albums I credit with breaking me out of my "Rock is the ONLY real music!" phase (alongside Gorillaz' Demon Days, Madvillain's Madvillainy, Aesop Rock's None Shall Pass, and Daft Punk's Random Access Memories). Also, it's damn good.

Looped rhythms provide the soundtrack to a meditative disco in your mind, bleeps and blops poke the hard ridge at the back of your head, and maybe-familiar samples keep you guessing. In other words, it's a balancing act got right most of the time, the latter two elements keeping the tyranny of easy listening at bay. This also gave me pause to reflect that I was able to get a bead on this album because the 1001 listening exercise has exposed me to more albums of this type than I'd normally listen to, i.e. Chemical Brothers, Air and Daft. Praise be.

An album so good they didn’t dare release another for almost 20 years

I went into this album not knowing anything about it, and I'm glad I did. This album's concept is something I've been needing to hear for ages. Everything about it is amazing, I love the catchy beats, the samples, radio static, etc. I've already relistened multiple times and I'm 100% checking out their other work. Favorite Songs: Frontier Psychiatrist and Live at Dominos

An absolute masterpiece and one of the best sample-based albums ever made, if not the best. This is a fantastic album technically and musically, and I cannot come up with any serious criticisms of it. It is truly a wonderful album and always a pleasure to listen to no matter how many times I've heard it already.

A marvelously put together concept that flows together so well. One of the most creative albums I've heard

Lots of times with electronic albums from this period, it's hard for me to evaluate the album because it's hard to know how groundbreaking something was without researching it. The novelty of the sounds fade over time and are lost in a wash of imitators. This is not one of those albums. It's not just that it's obviously groundbreaking for the time, it's that it still sounds novel. It's just a great album all the way through. The execution is incredible, which is a real achievement given the technology it was made with and the number of samples involved. Just incredibly fun, innovative dance music from down under 5/5

The sampling on this album continues to be divine.

This album has one of the most personally life-changing songs I head in my 20's ("Since I Left You,") Which was so bright and prophetic and singlehandedly steered me toward the kind of sampling I love in my musical life, and for which I have thought about countlessly in the years since hearing it for the first time. And yet, for silly reasons, I never got around to hearing the album that it came from. Sometimes a single song shines so brightly, it's like a mission statement and the whole thesis in itself, the premise and the conclusion. That's how I always felt about "Since I Left You," the title track. So I never ventured further. What a mistake! The whole thing just cements the sheer ambition of The Avalanche's Project, and how *much* further along in this stuff they were than anyone else at this time. The whole thing plays like one huge dance party, one big hurrah through the fantastical words they make. And it's funny! It's SO funny at times. I am awed by the ambition, the aesthetic, the originality, and the pure FUN I feel throughout this record– doubly so once I remember that they probably did this whole thing on ancient sequencers that are long defunct!– and I had such a great time. A one-of-a-kind record that I'm so happy exists. 5/5

What an absolute classic! Showing the power and creativity of sampling. These guys are as much an enigma for Australian dance music as Daft Punk is for French. So good, and so many grooves on this thing. Epic.

I felt the world something new

This is an all-timer. I first heard this record when I was about 13 years old and fully thought I was going to make music exactly like this when I grew up. This album appreciates with age; I love it more than I did when I first heard it - second-to-none production in a style that still feels fresh. Gold standard mixing and exact flow between tracks that just also happens to be super fun to listen to and makes you feel like dancing or bobbing your head along at the very least. It’s a perfect summer afternoon. 5 stars - one of the great Australian albums. Fave track is Electricity.

Where has this album been my whole life

This is another formative album for me. I torrented it and listened to it on my iPod constantly, so the whole thing is burned in my memory. It was just so cool and like nothing I ever heard of - the use of samples to form a coherent piece that moves throughout the entire thing was just so cool, and frankly still is. All these years later it still feels fresh. It introduced me to a whole new world of music, and for that I'm forever grateful. Also, if you haven't seen the music video for Frontier Psychiatrist, check it out, it's a lot of fun; I tell my daughter that she's "a nut; you're crazy in the coconut" all the time. She's a baby, but I'm sure she'll appreciate it some day

Love this. So happy all the way through, puts a big smile on my face

I ruddy love this album. It's such a banger.

Loved it- I had never heard this album before!

One of the best albums of all time. Best Song: Since I Left You No duds on this album

Weird but I really like it!

Never heard of this group and was blown away. So many good hooks and samples and so very much of the 2000s. I didn't think that decade had a "sound." Loved this album.

Love that this "plunderphonics" album came up so quickly after DJ Shadow's Endtroducing in our list, they're almost companion pieces (at least for someone coming from outside the genre). The Avalanches create a truly unique sonic atmosphere here, one that I could see working equally well for a study session as well as a house party. The looping is groovy and the samples sometimes feel like they're pulled out of nowhere, but fit together like puzzle pieces. Even though I know this album was constructed very deliberately, the flow and feel is so joyful and spontaneously. Loved it from start to finish. 4.5/5 Fav tracks: Frontier Psychiatrist, Since I Left You, Electricity, Stay Another Season

The best start of the album with the first song, vibey, weird noises and instruments. Love itt, also his(?) Voice is fun to listen to, but also not nice. Arcade fire vibes. I feel the 7 samples in this, too many I'd say. Second song low key continues the first song, but not the violin came, and back into the first song vibes. Little burning noises in my ears. Also a "club med" sample. LOVING THIS for now. So much chaos( in a good way). PERFECT TRANSITION INTO THE 3RD SONG. There is weird horse-like sound in the background constantly I like it low-key. Amazing beat. The sounds change each minute I feel like. This couldn't be any better. AAA AGAIN A TRANSITION THESE BITCHES DO THEIR WORK RIGHT. 4th song, This is so funny, in a such a good way, samples I think at the start. I will definitely check all those samples(I hope) so that I can actually see their origin. THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST INTERESTING ALBUM, for now. Oh, the end is getting louder and better, love iiit. Again a fucking transition, I'm not even alive at this point, 5th song and I'm more entertained than I've ever been. Oops it was not a song just a 22 second thing, but I loved it still. Omg 6th song is also a transition. Such weird voice, I adore it. I'm so vibing with this, every second is so worth it, made me day. FRENCH RAP?! CHEF'S KISS. Is it "Jamaica" or "she wicked" hmm. 7th song: Whole album is a one big song I swear. It got loud and fast, not it's opposite, beat stayed though. Progressive I think. It's so catchy, everything about it. 8th song started with woman's talk, now it's some man going right and left in my headphones. Also weird beat instrument giving off tropical vibe. OHH sound changed fully, another sample I guess. Wtff song changed and I didn't realise for 1 minute, 9th song and they keep up the magnificent work. A little classical violin at the end such an adventure this album is, the beat came in so smoothly. Burning sound is back, aaand gone, and back. 10th song starts operatic, than beat comes in and whohoo. "Rap dirty" "black man" or "Macbeth" hmm again. Ended with an opera woman voice as the start. 11th and apparently 12th songs has an asmr like sound, it continued with a piano, wooow vibe fully changed to jazzy woman voice. Love the piano and the voice, plus the way they switch eachother unexpectedly. Claps at the start and end, and some weird burning noise. 13th song, continued with the last part. Circus voices, batman theme-like sound, motorbike(?), horse, old film playing, beat came in with film playing, horse made a sound and the song started. I feel like this is a good mashup of weird sounds. This song is plunderphonics, because it's fully other songs or films. And it is soo good to hear idk why. The epic instrumental chorus is so great. 14th song starts quite differently, slow and steady. Beats coming in, guitar in the background. Song is about either their past drummer of alcohol aka ethanol (song name basically). This is the most boring song, as it's permanent wave with the same vibe, like exactly same in an annoying way. But I get it in my fashion. I'm still not bored of the song because I know it will transition into the next song. 15th is also too permanent wave, but it has a french woman voice, so better than the last one. Fireworks?! These two last songs really bored me, they're tooo long. Violin at the end, gone sadly. I missed an interlude "Pablo's cruise" so it's messed up numbering after 12, imma fix it. 16th song was slow but it changed quickly so Arca like sound, now it has rock and roll in the background. Monkey sound, or a parrot. Best opened, glitched, changed, got back. Fun to listen to. And instantly into the 17th song starting upbeat, then daft punk vibes, BONEY M SAMPLE I LOVE THEM. It changed from boney to something else sample. It got quiet real slow, still same everything though. Oh, now it changed fully to another strut beat. This is a long song but I didn't even notice it. Same violin at the and with the beat. Going right into the last 18th song, it starts slow, with some french. "and they left us for 16 years" WHY WOULD THEY, I DON'T GET IT. Song is not as interesting as I thought the last one would be. Beat change, feels like new song started. I'd cry if I could, this was PERFECT. I'm gonna rate this 5 stars, it's my first 5 star album, I would definitely listen to this again, so chaotic, weird and catchy. Despite some floppy songs it was wonderful, didn't expect it to go this hard.

Truly felt like an album you have to listen to before you die.

The Avalanches Since I Left You is a masterpiece of sampling. This album is filled with inventive, creative tracks that uses samples and synthesizers to make joyful, engaging dance music. There isn't much to compare the Avalanches to - they expanded the potentials of music made with samples. Their music has inspired generations of djs and producers in a range of electronic styles.

omg gorgeous

So damn great.

This is a very special album for me, both musically and personally. A few names to be dropped, I first came across the Avalanches in 1997. They were supporting The Sneaker Pimps at a long closed venue in Newtown, NSW. I loved them from the moment they came on. The were more brash at that stage like a weird cross between Pavement and the Beastie Boys. They wore those influences on their sleeves but you wouldn't see me complaining. Steve Pav, the guys who had bought Nirvana out to Australia in '92 and would go onto sign The Avalanches to his label Modular, came up and he asked me what I though. "Freaking amazing!" was my reply. Over the next few years I saw the band play every time they came to Sydney (I think). Getting to vaguely know Darren Seltman, at least enough to chat about music and graphic design. I was waiting for this album to come out for ages and first heard it in around September of 2000, getting an advance review copy through work, on cassette no less. I took the tape to a friend's party that weekend. She claimed to hate the Avalanches so I slipped on her cassette deck under the guise of it being a mixtape. Every one at the party got really into it, even my friend who did slap me across the arm when I revealed my deception. Anyway, great album that I never tire of listening to

This album. Drifting around on warm Summer nights in my red '87 Acura Integra, with the headlights popped, windows down and music up. The songs merging with the street sounds in a way where it was hard to know where one ended and the other began.

Big fan of Frontier Psychiatrist. I was a bit slow getting into this, but it's growing on me. Very creative. The best I've heard of the genre.

love this album. this is a big part of the things I look for in music

I love finding hidden 2000s gems like this one

Really enjoyed this. Fun listen. Nice to get something completely different to the just recent stuff. I couldn't really pick out much in the way of particular tracks other than Frontier Psychiatrist but I think it's just one of those albums

what do u call a groovy lofi? and i like the blends between tracks

5. Fucking. Stars. I found this album on Limewire back in the day when I was a poor kid just out of college and I have no idea why I was looking for it. I downloaded it all and had no idea what order the songs went in. But one listen to 'Frontier Psychiatrist' and I fell in love. As usual, I love the kitchen sink production. Aside - why, on Wikipedia, do they have a thumbnail of the cover art and when you click on it, it takes you to a page where you get the exact same art at the exact same size? Like... why even link it, Wikipedia?

Can't believe this is the first time i've listened to this album. For shame. Fantastic listen. Can see what the hype was about. bonus * for Frontier Psychiatrist. Absolute hit

Absolute masterpiece of an album. Amazing we got it in 2000.

Fucking amazing

A brilliantly fun and deep exploration into sampling in music Favourite tracks: Since I Left You, Radio, A Different Feeling, Frontier Psychiatrist, Etoh

I often wonder about the attention span of artists who can perform full length albums like this. Girl Talk All Night is a particularly masterful example of what I'm talking about. Another album where the track delineation is somewhat arbitrary, "Since I Left You" is an hour-long soundscape that weaves in and out of itself leaving me wanting more. Frontier Psychiatrist is a standout track here, and probably the one most of us have heard. I can't tell you the name of any other track on this album since I didn't notice where one began and the other ended. Taken as a whole, this whole album is an experience.

One of the most beautiful and powerful listening experiences from start to finish, an hour of sheer bliss and brilliance. If you want to hear the album as it was intended to be heard, listen to the Zomba promo version. It has one more song (With My Baby) and Extra Kings is fully realized as the streaming version is sorely lacking. Regardless, amazing album all the way.

So well crafted. They throw everything at this and it sticks. A perfect album.

An obvious 5 for me. Interesting twists and turns throughout. Completely innovative. Loved it.

Probably the best album so far! I loved it !

Insanely amazing

Incredibly unique, innovative and beautiful album, ez 5

This continues the streak of really good electronic albums. The excessive sampling (over 900 in total, I believe) gives a unique and unified sound. Standouts aren’t really prevalent because of how good it is in general.

I'm not massively into nostalgia, but this whisked me back to 2000, when I'd just left home and started uni. "Since I Left You" is still one of the most upbeat tunes you'll ever hear, and I love the way The Avalanches added hip-hop to the hideous "chill" genre; it gives it more texture and backbone.

I very much enjoyed listening to this record. If there was a disco album I'd put on when I invite my friends to a house party, this would be it. It's fun, rather complex yet accessible at the same time. Awesome. I don't give a 5 out of 5 often but this one deserves it.

Amazing album.

Loved it on first listen. Could easily put it on repeat already & it instantly made vinyl wishlist. Easily MASTERFUL work in sampling. Really great album.

Incredible.

one of my all time faves. soooooo good

LOVE

I LOVED this, pleasantly surprised for a band I've (somehow) never heard of. Always a sucker for sampled electronica.

One of my all time favourite albums. Simply flawless.

Goddamn this was magnificent. There are so many different genres coming together on this thing, and even on individual songs. The samples are really fun and can be super random to add some spice, too. Jammy. 10/10

Stoked to have this one on my bday. Keen to give more close listens in the future as its been a long while but this is beautiful, exciting dance music with incredible transitions and sampling. My only gripe would be that some tracks play a little straight where I think they could go slightly funkier/glitchier. Strong four and a half! Fave track: Flight Tonight/Electricity

A brilliant original album which hasn't dated since I first heard it over 20 years ago. The videos for both Frontier Psychiatrist and Since I Left You are also brilliant and worth checking out.

I didn't appreciate just how good of an album this is until the listen today. Electric from start to finish. Great range of tracks that flow effortlessly into each other with truly incredible transitions. You could write an entire review on how perfect the transitions are and just how much they add to this listening experience. They have struck the perfect balance between a fun and inviting album that leaves you fully engrossed, whilst also having challenging passages that keep you guessing with wild samples and beat switches. You can feel how much effort was poured into this album, yet it never feels overdone or smothering. 5/5 Fav Track: Radio

Loved it

- Heard this many times before - Another classic, still yet to hear an album that uses sampling as well as this does - Frontier Psychiatrist is such a good song - No filler for an hour is impressive - Fav songs: Frontier Psychiatrist, Since I Left You, Electricity - Side note: Unbelievable that I've had 4 albums in one week that have been instant 5*

Never heard of these guys before this recommendation--first impression is unique sound, good rhythm, got my foot bouncing. They lean heavily on layering in ambient people chatting & conversation sounds

2000's music has an odd tendency to sound like nostalgia. Maybe it's the new century, a transition that baffled even computers during that time. But I felt that this IS what nostalgia actually sounds like. Snippets of familiar sounds that creates comfort despite the chaotic flow of the music as a whole. This really created a new perspective on sampling, leading to a number small movements later in the century. I can hear them here, the lo-fi hiphop, the EDM, even the nightcore. The cover art, which is apparently from a painting by Fred Dana Marsh called "Sinking of USS President Lincoln, 31st May 1918", was also "sampled" and turned into a dreamy painting showing two boats across a big wave. It really defined the album as a whole, sampling and reinterpreting many music and movie snippets to create such an emotional wave. It's been long since an album blew my mind. A new favorite right here.

It‘s an icon of the time. Incredible production, Cut-up-whirlwind emotional, funny, melancholic but never sad. So many of us back in the days (hehe) coming from different musical backgrounds could easily agree on The Avelanches‘ stroke of genius. 4.8

Groundbreaking classic. In my top ten albums of all time easily.

This album was created entirely with samples. If you research it, you’ll find it contains over 3,500 samples, making it a true testament to the art of sample-based music. For me, this album is like a time capsule. I remember the late ’90s and early 2000s very clearly, and this was the kind of music I was really into. It contains a lot of samples and vibes that bring back precious memories. When I say time capsule, I mean it on two levels: it captures the essence of the past through its samples, and it also resonates with me on a deep, personal, nostalgic level. This album has segments that are more house music oriented, but for the most part, it’s a chill out/downtempo album. Although I’ve known about this album for a long time and have heard bits and pieces of it in the past, I never played it from beginning to end until now. Looking back, I feel like I missed out, but better late than never.

Boy do I love this album

First thoughts, like before: if it's so great, why haven't I heard of it, or them before? On listening: this is very interesting indeed. The phrase "electronic music" worries me but this is a clever use of technology and samples. It's effective.

The Avalanches prove how sampling can be just as impressive as any other form of creating in music

I really really enjoyed this album. The Avalanche's use of samples really stands out, even today when it's becoming more and more popular in music. I enjoyed it so much that I sought out their other music after listening to this. Four stars without hesitation.

Ahead of its time. Brilliant.

This is such a fun album. Finding all the samples must have taken an insane amount of time, since they had to manually find a sample and copy it (no good internet search). Top songs are easily "Frontier Psychiatrist" follower by "Since I Left You". Too bad they took so long to release their follow up, this genre really was going in the 00s early 10s. The album is a bit long and feels a bit all over the place but for sheer difference and freshness it deserves a four. Many of the songs make also great hip-hop beats, the remix with MF DOOM while not on this album is stellar.

That was a fun ride. “Frontier Psychiatrist” is absolutely infectious. You can tell this act had an influence on a lot of more mainstream acts including Kanye West.

The sound of this album was both familiar and different at the same time. Every song is comprised mainly of samples which gives the album a unique (unique for the 2000's at least) "time-traveler" feeling to it, of which I vibe with. Favorite track: Summer Crane

Never heard of this Aussie electronic crew until now. Pretty fun stuff with a hip hop flav!! Not doing a full review since I'm a couple of days behind on my listening due to our 2020 countdown weekend, but glad to know who The Avalanches are!

Really enjoyed. One of the few 2000s albums that I haven’t been familiar with.

Like Gorillaz met daft punk, I'm going to listen to this again for sure

This is a ton of fun. I was only really familiar with the Avalanches' 2020 release "We Will Always Love You", so I enjoyed getting to go back and give this one a listen. I wasn't familiar with the term "plunderphonics" before this, so this form of ultra-sampling was neat. Familiar but remixed to the point of something new. Very danceable.

Naja, ist schon eine Leistung alles so zu mischen sodass man es am Ende noch etwas anhören kann, aber gut finde ich es nicht

It's a bit weird, but there's some nice vibey tunes in here. All weird samples flowing into each other. Frontier Psychiatrist is brilliant and elevates the score a bit, but overall it's a bit mad and chaotic for me to revisit or to have as a go-to background chill mix.

Recording the same track several times is apparently a must hear album. I guess for a passive listen this is okay, but some real great album had its spot taken by this?

kinda wierd, could go crazy on acid though

Some good beats and mixing. About 50/50 on the songs that I like/wasn't a fan of. Sometimes the songs started off good with samples with samples that didn't really fit later on in the song (or vice versa).

Sprawling and complex, hard to really connect with the vibe. Some moments felt like an onslaught of samples without a cohesive purpose. I appreciate the artistry of this, but I’ve enjoyed many other electronic albums that were much simpler than this. Impressive that this has over 3000 samples and no live parts, but sometimes less is more.

cool sampled electronic album. flows well so it has to be listened to in full. good for walking and working.

** Controversial **- Not my ususal genre pick to be fair, but I think it's pretty boring. I get that they are master samplers or some such, and sure, it's quite a feat to mash together 3,500 samples of other people's musical genius to bring this album together, but I just don't think it sounds that great. So. Repetitive.

This is an interesting album. I don't know what genre to call it. It's like an upbeat ambient electronica album. Nothing like the dubstep/house music of the later 2000s and is ongoing. It's catchy and can brighten your mood but it's just a little odd and inconsistent for me. I didn't dislike it but I don't think I would say its an album "You Must Hear Before You Die" and I won't be looking to relisten to it again any time soon. 2 out of 5.

I started off thinking this might be a 4 because it had the vibes of Chicago and the Jackson 5. Then it started to be too much and I was thinking it could be a 3. By the time I stopped listening to it, it was clearly a 2. There was clearly some talent and good bones to the songs. But it all became too cluttered. It's like they had a quote of having to overlay 12 tracks over each song and were having a hard time coming up with ideas. Good artists know when they are done with their work. Unfortunately, the Avalanches never figured that out. Scale: 5 - My absolute favorites. 4 - Albums I like. 3 - It was ok to listen to but I wouldn't seek it out. 2 - Didn't like. 1 - Absolute shit.

It's just wallpaper. "Music" for people who don't like music.

I suppose it's quite clever at times, if you're into music created by samples etc. But for the most part it's just a horrible mess; annoying music made by people with no talent and even more crucially, no soul.