Reviews (page 4 of 10)
Just what I needed, apparently
A very pleasant surprise… those transitions were EXCELLENT
That boy needs therapy
a nice soundtrack
Since I Left You is a wild collage of samples and moods - dreamy, funny, and sometimes downright weird. It’s like flipping through radio stations in a half-remembered dream. When it clicks, it’s magical, but other times it drifts a little too far into its own haze. Still, there’s a real charm in its messiness and warmth - a record that feels alive even when it’s uneven.
Meh. 2.5 rounded up.
Not sure why I liked this but thought it was pretty decent. Not quite 4 worthy.
Very nice production
A bit of a mixed bag - the tracks I liked, I loved. At its best, this is a really fun and inventive use of sampling. However, some of it just kind of washed over me.
This is my favorite album ever made. It has been for 5 years now. I've heard it perhaps a hundred times since I first found it in 2020. I've laughed and cried so much and I love this more than Kid A, The White Album and a thousand other records. I don't think I need to type much about how incredible and beautiful this is to me. This is a record where I truly believe that once I marry and have children, I'm going to struggle deciding who I love more: my wife, my kids or Since I Left You. Can my wife and kids love me unconditionally? Yes, but can they make "Close To You"? Absolutely fucking not. Move over Steve Irwin, Crowded House, Kylie Minogue, INXS Tame Impala, etc.; this is Australia's greatest import. If you are able to make a song as humorous as "Frontier Psychiatrist" followed by a song sequence as tranquil yet colorful as "Etoh/Summer Crane", you deserve the world (10/10 (if there was an option, it would be an 11) 5/5 on this scale)
Fun but I think Fatboy Slim did ut better
A perfect album.
This is the first album I’ve never heard that I’m giving 5 stars to. I always thought the avalanches were like the books, I now know differently. They are both sample heavy groups but the avalanches make fun music. That’s not to say the books are t good, I like the books but they’re not gonna make you want to dance. This album was a lot of fun and its sound was unique and fresh even though it’s 20+ years old. I wish I’d heard this album a long time ago but it was a joy to discover.
Ved ikke om jeg synes det er *meget* bedre end andre ikoniske samplealbums, men megafedt er det. Højdepunktet er Frontier Psychiatrist imo. Virkelig fede overgange mellem numrene
JA tak. Mest imponerende stykke sample-kunst nogensinde og det er ikke tæt.
Lots of samples. First song is good, the rest tries to catch up..
I knew I liked this album, I didn't realize I was going to listen to it three times and still be dying to hear it with nice headphones.
Good that
i liked it
God I wish I could unheard this and have the joy of hearing it again for the first time. Simply one of the most original documents of music of the past 25 years. I can't believe that after 16 years wildflower was nearly as good as this album. What a joyous, wonderful, fun, unique album.
it’s an interesting album, not one of the best, but not one of the worst. there are some bangers in this one though
Insanely impressive piece of work. Trail blazing. Catchy, deep. All the superlatives. Yet... I've never particularly enjoyed listening to it. Not entirely for me but 5 stars.
Pleasant at times, but repetitive and not really goung anywhere
interesting electronic, sampling
This kind of genre is really hit or miss for me, just comes across as a collection of background music to me I guess.
One of my fave albums of all time.
Eh? alright? Fine?
Gosh, thin in the extreme, another wild inclusion.
Great fun in places but so inconsistent.
Sounds like a Year 7 playing random keyboard sound effects in music class.
Wasn't for me. Reminded me of RJD2 but lacking in depth. Instrumentals with lots of vocal samples. A bit too repetitive and grating.
A good album, I liked Two Hearts in 3/4 Time, A Different Feeling and Frontier Psychiatrist the most.
Love this album just my kinda cup of tea ☕️🔥🔥🔥
Some fun beats but also slows down quite a bit. Pretty long album or felt like it. Nothing terrible nothing to search for either. 2.5 goin down.
Inventive pop mixes. I like it fun
really not my thing, uses a lot of repetitive sound, and i cant get into that
Probably the closest I’ll get to enjoying a live DJ set. (3.5)
Oof. This was a bit tiring. I prefer Lemon Jelly.
A jumbled mess of repetitive samples.
This album cover caught me and I had to dive in. So worth it. This album is so interesting and I need to check it out with good pair of headphones.
I like it, but there's this 'distraction' quality about it that annoyed me.
I've already listened to his album (20). Gets better with every listen.
I know there's an audience for this style of music, and I'm sure you mostly cone from good homes, but....
This is ahead of its time. Unfortunately, when they got in their DeLorean, these Australians listened to a particularly mid point in the Chilled Cow livestream, said, "That'll do," and drove back to 2000. The two stars for this album are for its prescience – it really does sound like a predictor of the lofi beats vibe 15 years early and, to my knowledge, just before Nujabes truly hit the scene. They're also for its structure, I do find the one continuous song a bold choice that I have to shout out. I enjoyed "Electricity" and "Frontier Psychiatrist" the most. The latter is an extended MF DOOM sample, which is cool – can't say it's cool when he does it but not someone else – but also, DOOM's extended samples are often the worst part of his tracks (meme reference easily searchable). Now, you're probably wondering why the album lost three stars. Well, it sounds like grating, repetitive, low-fidelity monkey shit! "Tonight" is a collection of the worst transitions in music history – like I said, Lofi Girl on an off day. I really should like this, but I don't, and that makes it even worse.
good but also annoying
Favourite Track: Frontier Psychiatrist
The song Since I Left You is a fucking classic. The rest of the album is just fine though
Really cool electronic/sample music. Fun to work to.
Rating: 9.5/10 Beauty in sampling: this album is comprised of hundreds of samples but every song and transition sounds so cohesive. An impressive feat for sure, it also happens to be absolutely beautiful and a joy to listen to.
Beetje repetitief, opzich wel aardig. Dat was een leugen, niet heel nice 2/10
Overall, a very repetitive album, it's a bit like LoFi but not really, but it's more like what they would play at the beach where I would go, where it was just the same beat and it would have someone talking over it, but also there would sometimes be that kind of not-so-bad stuff playing. Overall, quite a bit meh, nothing exciting, it became a bit more chill towards the end, but nothing too cool.
There is so much to discover here. Great feeling.
Cacophonous samples
Noise with repetitive "lyrics"; absolute shite.
Sampled electronic Since I left you Radio Close to you
I enjoyed it, I would be lying if I said I didn't - but this album feels... Pointless. There is no payoff, the whole thing feels like 60 minutes of - a pleasant, causeyes, it was pleasant - interlude. Plus the fact that 100% of the sounds I heard were just samples, apparently around 900. God damn, that's a lotta work, that's for sure. But that's probably what made this album feel so pointless. It sounds nice, it feels nice, but it's empty inside. Towards the end I got more interested in when it will end rather than what other samples will be creatively used in this record. It's an interesting concept, I got invested in it, but I won't be coming back to it. Quite an experience, but I think it'll stay a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At least for now.
A lovely collage that takes the listener on a journey. I remember being in awe learning how the record was cut, and it's amazing how fresh it still feels.
genialidad
Lyrical parts are worlds better than the pure instrumental or synth bits.
Day628 - i was in until about thirty minutes in and then it got old fast
I knew some of The Avalanches, but I've never devoted the time to listen to a full album. What a magnificent surprise.
Taking influence from Daft Punk, hip hop, R&B, Motown, electronic music and maximalizing on it. They pack a lot of samples from all sorts of sources into each song, which can range from an aural delight to an attack on the senses. The album can feel a little repetitive at times, but it's mostly fine. I am very exhausted by "Frontier Psychiatrist". I have heard it too much, so now I find it a little annoying. I see Since I Left You on many "essentials" lists and I agree that it belongs there, but it's not an album I particularly like. Highlights: "Tonight"
The first half is a masterpiece. Brilliantly diverse electronic music that really pushes genre and vibes. The backhalf becomes pedestrian again and keeps it from a 5 star record for me.
I had no clue who these guys were but this was pretty awesome.
A majestic game with samples, I love this kind of level filling, funkiness. Discovered plunderphonics for myself with "Messer fur Frau Muller", but now it's a pity, that I haven't started with "Avalanches", and even specifically with this album. Fell in love with the first audition, wanna have it on a CD.
I doubt I will return to it, but it turned out more engaging for electronic record, than I've expected. Nice sound collages. I doubt I will return to it though, at this amount this kind of music is kinda tiring to me.
Couple cracking tunes, bit chaotic at time bit that's the nature of album of sample. Original for its time.
Annoying, stupid and painfully pretentious. Avoid.
I absolutely love this album thank god they were able to make it before people got so annoying about sampling
Phenominal
OMG! How have I never heard of this group?!? Totally up my alley in a DJ Shadow type of way.
I loved this album. I recognized the titular song and Frontier Psychiatry, but I have no idea from where. It was just a fun, upbeat album.
This album is quite the feat. I enjoy music made from sampling. Some like it, others don't. Onto each his own. The format with which you listen to it matters greatly. It has to be CD or streaming. This is my only criticism. I read in the Wiki there was a vinyl pressing done in 2017. I would be interested to know how that changes the listening experience. I listened to this while working, enjoying the upbeat disco pop style. It looped around to the beginning and I was 3 in before I realized. It is something you can play streaming like a perpetual machine.
3.5, but I'm feeling generous today, giving a bonus .1 and rounding for Frontier Psychiatrist.
Heilt adekvant bakgrunnsstøy
A bit noisy for me.
An original of its time
I was in no kind of mood for this but it’s impossible to resist. Amazing work!
Ok this is an album. Like, I you could tell that when they wrote this, they were making an ALBUM. It flows so well, it feels like an hour long experience. Works perfectly as an album, had such a good experience listening to it. I don't know if I can justify a perfect 5, but it's atleast a 4.5, on other listens it could definitely go up to a 5.
Boring music comprised of mixing other people's music samples with drumming and record popping noises. Who the fuck listens to this stuff? Or, is it just for use as background music at clubs and in movies?
Dope
Mint
Love this album, can't believe it came out 25 years ago!
I've come across the Avalanches a few times throughout my musical journey. I remember liking what I heard, and that feeling sort of remains after listening to this album all the way through. This was definitely intended to be listened to continuously from top to bottom. The singles are standalone for the most part, but each track flows into the next, exuding a (very heavy) sample-based dance and instrumental sound. Now, I don't know if you can "dance" to most of these tracks per se, but they are crafted well enough that the listener can enjoy in an atmospheric sense if they so desire. That being said, these sorts of albums that fall under the "sampledelia" umbrella tend to drone on a bit too long for my liking. Maybe I'd enjoy it more if I just submitted and went along for the ride.
Pretty cool experience low 4/5
Since I Left You“ beeindruckt durch seine aufwendige Sample-Konstruktion und fließende Übergänge, verliert jedoch an Klarheit und emotionaler Tiefe. Die Tracks wirken oft beliebig, und die verspielte Nostalgie kann nicht über die fehlende Struktur hinwegtrösten. Ein kreatives Konzept mit originellen Momenten, das jedoch nicht durchgehend überzeugt.
Something about this really rubbed me the wrong way...the sounds in this album were just grating. Could not finish it.
not a fan of the album
YESSSSSSSS!!!!!! It's beautiful.
Songs flow together seamlessly, samples a lot of different audio, good music for focus. Listen with headphones.
More electronic music, but now from Australia! This was at least more lo-fi, and a little easier to play just doing stuff around the house. 2.5/5 Probably won’t listen again
I had never heard of plunderphonics but it makes sense. I love the statement the brazen thievery makes. These sounds are for us all! Who hasn’t found immense joy in an artist sampling the very best part of a song and looping it again and again to scratch that itch? This album was good but doesn’t add too much to the pile that others haven’t already covered. Great working/focus music though!
Started out refreshing and interesting and within 10 minutes I forgot it was even on and left the room while it was playing. When I would remember to listen I liked it, but it kept deflecting my attention, which has to cost it a star or two.
I'm pretty sure I've never heard anything from The Avalanches or this album before except the fantastic "Frontier psychiatrist", which is kind of a nice change of pace after several albums in a row with very familiar artists and/or songs. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I guess it wasn't exactly this sort of happier-than-average electronic/trip-hop/disco atmosphere. At times they even reminded me of a more electronic-oriented sample-heavy Jamiroquai (plus bits of Fatboy Slim, Portishead, and even Daft Punk), which made for an enjoyable experience, even if the album was a bit long in the tooth at times. And they got off to a great start with the title track, largely on the strength of the quirky miners-discovering-a-dance-studio video. "Radio" is another strong track, as was "Electricity" and "ETOH" (in addition to the excellent "Frontier psychiatrist" with its almost hypnotically engaging video). It was also impressive to read how much time and effort (and eventually reworking of the album) was involved in tracking down and (largely) getting clearance for their thousands of samples--a shame that the eventual international edition version wasn't as complete as their original release, but kudos to them for getting an apparently very elusive release from Madonna for the "Holiday" bassline in "Stay another season". Also interesting to discover that this was a product of Australian DJs, not that there's anything obviously Australian-sounding about it. This would have been an easy four stars if it had been about half or two-thirds as long.
I listened to this and was intrigued for about 30 seconds then I turned it down and only perked up again when it restarted for those 1st 30 seconds.
I like this. Don’t love it and I’m not sure it’s a must listen but it’s good. 2.5
My review: love love love, groove groove groove, bliss bliss bliss breezy breezy brezzy Sounds so timeless. I cant beleive its a 20 year old album. Easy feelgood 5.
I felt cool listening to this. Really cool, walking around the house while it blasted. Everything is right about this record, the samples are fabulous. The segue to track two from the mind blowing opening track leads to Madonna, of course it does. Those two guys got it right, big time. I loved it then and I love it now. It will never age and it's a groove, put it on and feel really cool.
One of my prized possessions is the Avalanches 'Rock City' 7", which I picked up at Au Go Go in Melbourne when it was first out. I bought Since I Left You on CD when it first came out, and then a copy on vinyl about five years ago when reissues became more affordable. This is one of the great sample collage albums, that rates alongside Three Feet High and Rising, Paul's Boutique, Nation of Millions, Endtroducing, or Donuts. This was a really exciting new approach to music, that has been (unfortunately) stifled by legal restrictions around licensing of samples. Since I Left You stands out even amongst sampledelic albums by how seamlessly the samples are stitched together to form a cohesive and consistent new thing. There are occasional moments of "stunt" sampling (Holiday appearing in Little Journey, or most of the vocal samples on Frontier Psychiatrist), but, for the most part, the samples are recontextualized to the degree that they really create something entirety new. And that new thing is tuneful and catchy and funky and fun. I love the way this album celebrates uncool records. As a vinyl collector, I am very familiar with the crappy records that fill discount bins, charity stores and the back waters of old collections -- easy listening, comedy, classical, spoken word and kids' records. While there are a few groovy breaks used here, a lot of the samples are from these unloved records, presented here in a way that breathes new life into them. It is a loving celebration of cheap records. It's a fantastic listen, rich and tuneful, and you can dance to it! Standout tracks on this listening are the singles (of course), but also Flight tonight and ETOH. Still sounds fresh, 25 years later.
Its a classic, I have listened to this album fairly recently and it is fresh from my memory. Still really love being in that vibe where its sunshine and happy. Using omly entirely samples too which is just revolutionary
I liked some of the beats but I overall found this a bit repetitive and boring. Not really for me. I liked frontier psychiatrist best - maybe for the novelty. Learning a bit more about it makes me understand it more but I probably won't revisit it. 2.5
I loved so many of the songs on here but I had no idea that they were all done by these guys.
Some people really like this, I… get it’s existence
I went into this completely blind. I’d never heard of this album or of these people. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly based on the cover art but it really was not this. Granted, I don’t know how I fairly could have been expecting this. I didn’t realize that you were, like, ALLOWED to Frankenstein this many samples together. Like, legally. It is surprising to me that an album like this could ever receive a mainstream release. It is surprising to me that apparently they’ve even been allowed to make some MONEY off of this. The whole concept feels like a reinvention of fanfiction by and for men who spend too much time on Pitchfork. Let it not be said that I’m opposed to the existence of fanfiction or that I don’t think it has its place as a form of creative expression, but is that place really on widely cited and respected lists of “Best Albums Of All Time”? Apparently. You can get away with a lot if you’re a man I guess It’s not terrible. (Not all of it is terrible. Some of the beeping/record scratch noises were really annoying, and whatever the hell that tinkling on the high frequencies of the opening/title track is was legitimately, physically painful to listen to, to the point where I thought that something had to be wrong with my headphones/debated quitting the whole thing then and there.) There are some good moments and decent grooves buried under the avalanche (ha) of unnecessary repetition and too much random noise. If it was playing in the background at a party or something I wouldn’t walk out of the room. But to me that’s pretty much all it’s good for, effectively—background music you don’t think too much about. The guys at Pitchfork can go on and on about how intricately woven this tapestry of sound is (this album sure did find its target audience there) but the thing about creating an album that’s an intricately woven tapestry of sound is that all the weaving in and out of so many tiny fragments of different tracks means that there’s just not much of actual substance to hold onto. Every time something interesting starts happening, it’s played out before I feel like we’ve really explored what’s interesting about it. And every time something interesting starts happening, I think about how I could just go and listen to whatever track they ripped it from in the first place. Ahead of its time, sure, but only in the sense that it predates AI-generated music cobbled together from bits of the existing musical corpus by machine rather than man by a solid twenty years. 2 stars feels a little generous. But again, there are some good moments. And objectively it’s an impressive work of audio engineering. I’ll give it that much, just for that.
Album No. 0015 on my list. I was aware of the existence of The Avalanches, and that was about it. I've listened to this album for the first time and I have to say - it's just great! I'm completely stunned by this fun, elegant, timeless mix of samples - just stunning! All songs are great and I love that they basically blend into one smooth tapestry of sound that stretches through the whole album. "Since I left you", "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time", and "Electricity" are my personal favorites - but again, the whole thing is great! 5/5 stars - this will definitely become part of my heavy rotation.
plunderphonics at its best
Kept me entertained as background music during work. "Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life" stood out to me. I love hearing songs that sample others and this album was apparently one of the trailblazers of sampling in modern music.
C'était pas ouvertement hostile, mais c'était pas ouvertement bien non plus.
Ech. Ja i elektronika nigdy się nie polubimy. Ta była na granicy słuchalności. Nigdy nie wrócę do niej z własnej woli, ale te momenty z kojącym damskim wokalem były nawet przyjemne. 5/10
I'm not an electronic music fan at all and this is exactly the repetitive kind of thing I can't really stand. Apparently one of the best Australian albums ever? That can't be right. I was ready to move on about two songs in but had to tough it out for another 55 minutes. Even for electronic music, this is pretty weak. Cool cover art though. 1.25/5
Interesting sounds. Beachy pshyco techno sound
Man what an album. Sometimes when you listen to someone at the top of their game, it really pulls you in. 4.5/5 Best Song: Maseru
Maybe the greatest hipster coffee shop album of all time. Its so listenable, but at times maybe a bit too listenable where it borders on boring. 4.1/5
I need to buy a plane ticket
Meh
This one really grows on you. At first, I was rolling my eyes, thinking, “not another one of these,” but by the end it had completely hooked me. The way the samples are layered and blended creates something both playful and immersive, turning skepticism into appreciation. A clever, surprising album that rewards you for sticking with it.
August 16, 2025 Album #716: Since I Left You by The Avalanches *Since I Left You* has sort of been this enigma to me for a while, with everybody raving about it while I haven’t heard it. However, I’m very pleased as that has changed today. *Since I Left You* is an album experience that I haven’t had in a while, that being a really fun and engaging album that maintained my interest. It’s an hour long and yet it remains very consistent and cohesive throughout. It didn’t feel like it dragged for a second. Almost every track manages to deliver with intricate and jaw dropping sampling. Oh man, the sampling on this album. The thousands of samples said to have been used for this album are used to full effect. They’re so well together that, at times, I forgot that I was listening to samples. These samples are used to make amazingly catchy dance tracks. The title track immediately plunges you into these symphonies of samples which complement each other so well. Its vocal chops and hooks are catchy, and they remain that way all throughout the album. It’s impossible to not move while listening to this thing. Tracks like *Radio* and *Frontier Psychiatrist*, some of my favorites off the album, show how intricate this album can get. This album really left me dumbfounded by its fantastic production. *Since I Left You* is a stone cold electronic classic that’s still impressive today. I highly recommend it. Genre: Dance, Sampledelia, Disco, Plunderphonics, Art Pop Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, Decent to Strong 9 Favorite Tracks: Since I Left You, Stay Another Season, Radio, Two Hearts in 3/4 Time, Flight Tonight, Close To You, Diner’s Only, A Different Feeling, Tonight, Frontier Psychiatrist, Etoh, Summer Crane, Live At Dominoes, Extra Kings
One excellent song saves this from being a 1 star album
weird but good
Interesting concept and execution but not my jam
There’s something beautiful about this, that I can’t quite put my finger on
This was alright on the whole. A few parts where it got super repetitive, but the rest was ok as background noise 3 ⭐️
The Chemical Brothers meets Neon Indian. 8/10
- 😴 - 0 nummers toegevoegd aan MMMM
Overrated and very messy, but has it's moments when it settles down. Most of the time its sounds like a trainwreck DJ mix.
acc enjoyed an electronic album this is crazy
Quality breaks, top scratching and pure samples, this is an easy recommendation for anyone that likes peanut butter wolf style instrumental hip hop.
One of my favourite songs of all time is Frontier Psychiatrist. This album has some good songs, but most of it is just samples. I mean, that’s what it is. I can understand how some people really like this album, but for me, I prefer more structure. Fun album, but not really my thing.
energetic & fun
For some reason I had it in my head that Avalanches were an indie guitar band. Not so. This is great, really enjoyed my first listen and looking forward to listening again and becoming more familiar with this.
That was a surprisingly good album that I had never heard before except for the one track. Ended up playing at three times
Banging tunes
Ah, this is that. Knew the title track aaand ... bit baffled here. Not about this album, but the 3.28 rating and the ratio of upvoted 5 star VS less than that reviews. Are y'all new to music, from roundabout that time? Sample music? This isn't "amazing". This is - to pick only albums from this 1001 list - Moby Meets Fatboy Slim, after Moby or Fatboy Slim. With a generous handful of french house/disco as popularised by Daft Punk sprinkled on top. After Daft Punk. This isn't innovative. This is 4 years after "Endtroducing...". The only thing that stands out here in a comparison with other works like it is the sheer quantity of samples which means jack shit as I'm generally more impressed by people doing more with less. And so should you. It works as a creative crafting achievement, it really does, but - here's a sample for ya - 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 "nailed it" 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘦.
A super fun use of samples and a very enjoyable listen
great
First off, I really love how all of the tracks flow into each other, this album just has a great flow to it. When the tracks on here hit, they hit, however, there are a couple snoozers on here. I think this album could have trimmed ~10 minutes, but it is still a great album. This is my second time listening to this album. The first time I listened to this I enjoyed it, but got kind of bored by the end. This time I had a lot of fun listening to this and thought it worked a lot better. This is probably a very high 4 rounded up to a low 5. Low 5.
Interesting concept, that is inginius and creative, yet being a complete collage, it is a paradox, as it is creative in that aspect, while at the same time exposing the incapacity of the band members to, at this point and perhaps on purpose, create without cut and paste. A paradox indeed and an intriguing listen
Really interesting sample work here. Creative, dreamy, and, dare I say, full of vibes. I’d give it a 3.5 if I could, but we’re dealing in absolutes here. An hour is a long time for a vibes-based album, so I must rate accordingly, although I do think this is very well made and nice to listen to.
Remember being totally transfixed the first time I heard Frontier Psychiatrist. Listening to the whole album now, it's just such a triumph.
That boy needs therapy
She’s Wicked ❌ Timmy Goo ✅
at least 5 times better than expected
There is more electronic music on this list than hip hop...that's not a good ratio. I find that electronic songs with just the music is often ok. But the need for these electronic groups to put one line of a song or dialog over and over and over and over again in a song is not. It gets annoying so quickly. This is background music at a salon that has hair cuts that cost as much as a car payment. This could be the alternate soundtrack to Punch Drunk Love. All the random cuts of dialog feel more like a display of how much media they consume rather than adding to the song. These songs are like 15 second loops that are then repeated for 5 minutes.
This was really fun, exactly the kind of stuff I hoped to find from this list.
I appreciate what they’re doing here. If you’re a musician who has ever tried to create a song out of samples you realize how hard this is. It’s so much easier to just MAKE the part you want. The songs they make are complex, and fun! There is a joy here that’s intoxicating to listen to. My main issue with this is the repetitive vocal phrases. I listen to people repeating themselves constantly all day so I don’t enjoy it when listening to an album.
Hmm. Some sort of backing tracks kind of? Sounds like someone just started putting together random sound clips in GarageBand or something. Never offensive but not great.
this list sure does like dance/club music. the endless loops of redundancy are just not for me.
Nah, I’m good.
This is fun in small bursts. I've always like Frontier Psychiatrist. "You're crazy in the coconut!" But, like all purely sample based music, it gets too repetitive and annoying after just 2 songs. Can't imagine playing this album just to have a listen.
Æ tror ikke æ hørte på det her i 2000, men æ synes å huske at æ har hørt deler av det. Puslespillmusikk, ikke av typen som e bra å legge puslespill til, men den sorten som e pusla sammen av litt av alt. Helt ok.
I really enjoyed this! Reminded me of Justice's music.
Never heard of this band, but then I don't listen to much of this type of music. I did enjoy it though.
I already knew and loved "Frontier Psychiatrist" but hadn't explored any of their other stuff. Judging from what I'd heard about this band over the years, I figured I'd like them, and I did. They remind me of Propellerheads who are from the same era and did the sampledelia stuff too. Will definitely be listening to this again. P.S. You're crazy in the coconut!
This is kinda like an aussie version of shibuya-kei. Bit too long and repetitive, but nice enough vibes
it was fine! a little tedious but i enjoyed every part of it just not a lot
This is just not for me it feels disjointed and too random with no strong lyrics or hooks, just soundscapes. I am sure this would be fine as backgrounds music but not the best if you want to sit and listen.
This is a beautifully crafted record. The samples are creative and interesting, and most of the beats kept me engaged. However, it’s still too long of an album and there’s lots of repetition.
Pleasantly surprised with this one. I was expecting another boring electronic album, but this was nice, all the sampling going on and beat switches made this enjoyable and less repetitive than a lot of electronic music sounds to my ears.
Much more noise than music itself. Revolution 9 Enhanced dub remix version.
Its ok, not my thing but a few tracks I liked
Amazing beats, I prefer DJ Shadow's Endtroducing... but this is still a beautiful album. Title track is outstanding.
I might enjoy this as background music at a beach bar, but it gets repetitive and I would never choose this to play voluntarily
I wouldn't actively listen to this ever, but it's good background noise, on low volume preferably.
Pleasant and unique experience, collage, as some have called it. At around 3rd or 4th track I got a bit irritated, and before I blinked, all the songs just went by.
The things they’re able to do with samples is simply stunning.
Definitely a vibe.
I've been listening to Frontier Psychiatrist since I was like, 13, but I had never listened to this album in its entirety. It's a weird, groovy dreamscape of surprising samples and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The only hard part is, since basically all of the tracks transition seamlessly into each other, it's hard to pick out favorites because you're not sure when that track started. Favorite tracks: A Different Feeling, Frontier Psychiatrist
I think the method used to create this album is very unique and shows that something can be more than just the sum of its parts. I like listening for the different samples that, in their new contexts, have created an entirely new perspective from which to listen. Though there are only a handful of tracks on the album I go out of my way to listen to (Frontier Psychiatrist being one), the album is enjoyable throughout.
The definitive greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts experience, whatever this trippy proto-vaporwave magic hour is, it was fun to listen to I liked the part where it went like "What can talk other than a person? A bird!" "CAW CAW CAW CA-CAW C-C-CA-CAW CAW"
Thoughts before listening: I believe that the schtick for this album is that the songs are all made from samples. ..or at least heavily rely on sampling. This has definitely made a ton of indie rock/cool music site best of lists, but I have never tried to listen to it. Mainly because I am turned off by the idea of songs built fully from samples. I will feel pretty silly if I play this now and I was completely wrong about the album 🤣 Review: Yeah so I was right about the schtick here. Its definitely an electronic dance album made up entirely of samples. There is a certain joy that I can get from this type of an album, but it also tends to slip into background music very quickly. Especially without any vocals to latch on to. The approach here is similar to something like the Beastie Boys (especially on Paul's Boutique) that I love, but again its the lyrics that draw me in as opposed to the backing tracks. This is perfectly fine, but likely not destined to be a re-listen for me. 3-stars
Always interesting sometimes thrilling album of that appears to made entirely of samples. Would spin again!
Couldn't get into it
.
Did not like at all
No lo escuché, je
It's not for me.
"You're nuts! You're crazy in the coconut!" The "schtick" can become exhausting/tired at points, but it is the opinion of the of this humble listener that Since I Left You is criminally fun.
Never heard this album before, liked it WAY more that what I thought I would. Its really good!
I like electronic music, but this album is too repetitive and has too many sound effects for my liking.
One notch above ambient, occasionally I thought something interesting might be about to happen
Some nice blending from one song to the next
Pretty much an instant five for me as I've loved this album for years. It was really interesting reading the Wikipedia page and learning that it was never intended to be a commercial product. Having listened today I think it is much stronger in the first half and does start to dip a bit at the end, maybe a 9/10 but on this scale it's a 5.
Really interesting and fun, sounded amazing. 4 stars
Pretty electronic but it was alright.
A kaleidoscopic collage of samples, Since I Left You is a dreamy, genre-blurring journey through lost love and joyous rediscovery. The Avalanches stitch together disco, soul, and forgotten vinyl into a seamless, nostalgic groove equal parts melancholy and euphoria. It’s not my cup of tea, but I can understand the love for this long player
The most epic example I’ve ever had of sampling
The best
It was very good! But also repetitive. Too marks for vibe
The album feels a bit too long, because when listening to it as a whole, the gimmicks start to wear through. The way they get a one sample and rhythmically play with it. "Frontier Psychiatrist" is still great, and it seems to have more richness to it than other tracks. I also like how each track is mixed into the next, but it also turns the album more into pleasantly cool background music than something more engaging
I usually like music that’s “a bit much” and will listen to industrial metal or thrash to held drown out thoughts if I need to focus. There are so many samples that take you out of the music and overload your senses that I got a headache from listening to this. If it was toned down by even a small amount, I would have probably given this a 5
The sort of kaleidoscopic perfection you can only achieve by collecting hours and hours of incredible audio clips over an lifetime and knowing how to slot them all together with immense skill, humour and imagination. Bravo to the lads.
This feels like if you gave Pure Moods a small shot of adrenaline.
2/5. Just not my style of music.
Music assembled from old forgotten records and made into something cool and unique. IMO one of the best examples of limitations being a creative force. Favorite song: Frontier Psychiatrist
Не очень люблю концепт построения всего трека целиком на семплах, но клип к первому задел что то внутри, а следующие треки вызывали все более и более положительные эмоции. Большой разброс звучаний и настроений не позволил альбому зазвучать как каша из звуков, к концу отношение к жанру кардинально изменилось.
Pretty cool and interesting. I knew Frontier Psychiatry before listening and didn't know they did it.
Meh .. repetitive looped samples
Love this album, some really good stuff.
Good
..
I've tried repeatedly to enjoy this album, but the only saving grace is "Frontier Psychiatrist". The rest is just boring.
I don't get this band
Loved it. So weird and beautiful
So good
Decent album, but far too long
Really enjoyed it. 3.5/5
At first I wasn’t into this at all, but it grew on me surprisingly quickly. Now I find myself randomly thinking “This boy needs therapy!” It’s a bit inconsistent but overall I wound up really enjoying this.
Just not my cup of tea but I can find something to like in these sort of albums. Track Frontier Psychiatrist.
ETOH
Dexter is criminally insane.
that boy needs therapy!
I'd be curious to know if there are people whose favorite album is this one. I'd like to study them.
Starting off with a band and album completely unfamiliar to me. Theatrical studio effects to simulate a “live” club experience. Singer has an interesting voice. Fun dance music with many layers of production. “Two Hearts in 3/4 Time” seems inspired by old European movie soundtracks circa 1972. “Flight Tonight” is another great dance track. There are record pops and scratches throughout that I could do without.
nagy csapatás volt rá főzés közben, jól össze van rakva, táncolható meg minden, de nem szerettem meg ezt sem.
Avalanches albums are a cosmic collage, full of motifs that appear and reappear throughout the record. “Frontier Psychiatrist” is kind of a culmination of these, but the fragments of sound continue through the other songs in strange ways. They turn all these bits into something catchy and connected, which would seem impossible, but there it is. Listen on repeat!
Interesting electronic music, kept noddig my head. Love the genres being mixed together to come up with something new.
I initially stumbled across this album when a video about the samples popped up on my YouTube feed. Absolutely fell in love with this. This is one of those albums that you truly have to listen to before you die. An absolute masterpiece, particularly the beginning section. The back half is a bit hit or miss for me personally, but it never lessens my enjoyment of the album
1. left - 1.5 2. zeazon - 1 3. radio - 1 4. tuuo - 1.5 5. rock - 0 6. flight - 1.5 7. cloze - 1.5 8. dinnerz - 1 9. feeling - 2 10. electricity - 1.5 11. tonight - 2 12. cruize - 1.5 13. frontier - 1.5 14. etoh - 1 15. crane - 0 16. journey - 1 17. dominoez - 0 18. kingz - 1
I've heard worse! Seriously though, this isn't a bad album. I would go 6/10, so it's a 3/5.
It's alright.
This is ok but I never liked this as much as people seem to think I should
cool but got repetitive
Summery r&b sounds
Hip hop techno feel
Probably way more interesting to listen to on Ketamine.
Bought this on the day it came out and played it a lot at the time. I never truly loved it though and revisiting it l these years later I can see why. It has some great tunes in it, but it is so messy, it sounds like a live DJ mix not a studio album. It is restless throughout, and ultimately the relentless kitchen sink approach is irritating. It's compared a lot to Endtroducing on here, but the difference with DJ Shadow's approach is that everything seems to be done with great care and precision, whereas this has a throw enough shit at a wall approach. A lot of the time it sounds like a trainwreck.
Usually, I like Electronica and EDM, but this was just too much sampling. I appreciate the effort it took to mix this, but 'plunderphonics' is the fitting name for this kind of music.
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, entry for the day: The Avalanches "Since I Left You"... hmmm... it's pleasant music... but, it's a DJ/Producer type thing... loops that are spliced together to make a "song"... I used to do this type of thing on Maloa Warriors when we first started... so, i know it's an art form... and it takes time and effort to do that type of work... i have to respect it... but when you realize it's two guys on turntables with maybe a real bass and drums... it is cool, but not a monumental piece of art in any way... can you dance and groove to it? yes... is it cool background music? yes... should it be on any list with Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, et al??? oh hell naw... lol... i give it two stars... one for the chutzpa... two for the result... pass... PS... who did these people pay to get on this list? lol... zzzzz...
Perfection.
This is probably one of the most fun records to listen to that we’ve been given from this list so far. I had absolutely zero idea what to expect going into this one, and it was truly a wild ride. Almost schizophrenic electro-grooves. This album really is all over the place, but it kept my attention the entire time I listened to it. It’s also one of those record where you can tell they had a lot of fun making it, and that really shines through. The sheer number of samples involved is almost overwhelming, but I enjoyed it all nonetheless. 4*
This kind of loopy, sample-based electronic music of some of my very favorite of all electronic music, and ‘Since I Left You’ is an absolute classic. It really doesn’t get much better than this. It’s sunny, it’s psychedelic, it feels both familiar and brand new at the same time, it’s incredibly creative, and it’s complex enough that it has a ton of replay value with something new to notice on many subsequent listens. One version of my perfect day involves an all-day pool party where everything is the perfect temperature and sunburns don’t exist and it happens in this album’s universe. 10/10
should be up my alley... but it was a little too repetitive. still nice
ehhhhhhh
Electronic music is not my forte. Must sound the same with same rhythmic patterns over a long period of time. Although I didnt love this, these was a unique type of electronic music more like a construcction of sounds sampled from known music and turned into a mixed media collage sort of speak. Creativity gets a 10 the music by itself is just not my thing but obectively I can appreciate their work.
Unlike any album made before. A new approach to music. Is it one of my favorites? No, but I still like it quite a bit.
funky, enjoyed
Wowee... this was A-mazing, I didn't think based on the genres I woudl like it, but the first song on the album had me hooked. I can imagine playing this at a summer house party.. ALSO can we speak about Frontier Psychiatrist, why did this actually make me laugh out loud, never happened before but looking for the next time it can
Yup, I absolutely loved this. I was immediately hooked (the opener is so good). There is just something about sample-based music that tickles my brain in a special way. I liked how some samples were recurring in multiple songs. I can see how some people would find it repetitive or annoying, but this to me just hits. Favourite tracks: Since I Left You, Two Hearts In 3/4 Time, Frontier Psychiatrist
Man, what a journey this thing was. I really couldn't tell if I liked it or hated it at the start, but as we started rolling through - I picked up the idea of how this album structures itself. I won't deny the talent, making something like this in 2000 would be immensely difficult. Props to them. I don't see myself coming back to this thing in a hurry, but I still had a pretty good time nevertheless. I don't understand the raving fanatics of this thing, but I do think it was a generally favourable experience. Live at Dominoes was my favourite song.
I feel like electronic albums from around the turn of the century are often the coolest, They often feel as though they are looking to create something that has come from the future. Even in cases such as this where everything has actually come from the past. Genuinely the only time I had concerns about this album not landing for me was right at the beginning, the opening track was nice but hearing that some of the samples had bled into the next track had me worried that these samples were going to be frankensteined together for another hour. Thankfully I was just overreacting and it was instead another reason I appreciated this album. the way everything blends from one track to the next seamlessly makes this feel so comprehensive as a full album experience. This isn't to say that the individual tracks are weak either, they're all incredibly varied and satisfying listens, constantly shifting the tone of the album in fresh ways. The seamless transitions actually help each track stand out more in my opinion, as the natural shift from one track to the next really highlights the differences in one another, and having them dynamically adjust while you're listening almost makes it feel like you are window shopping different attractions, each with their own theme or style. 10 pending copyright lawsuits / 10. This list seems to do a lot better at picking their electronic albums than with some genres, where it feels as though they'll include any british wanker with a guitar and a set of drums in his garage
This is so funky. I like the samples bleeding over between songs, it makes it a great album for a full listen. The only mark on it is some of the repetitive vocals samples overstayed a bit on a few tracks, but not enough for me to knock my score down
I've heard chops from the Avalanches over my many years of makita site radio tuned to Triple J (old cunts are doing something else apprentices pick the station now old man) and I've never actually taken the time to sit down and listen to this in its entirety, and I'm glad this has been the catalyst for me to finally do it. This is bizarre and sonically eclectic, and I think it's genuinely a fascinating piece of art where you can make something wholly original purely out of bits and pieces of other people's work. There are plenty of artists that use sampling heavily, and definitely some that do it better, but I think the Avalanches, on this album at least, really make their own unique thing with it. Sort of like a musical collage - seriously look up any track from this album on a sample website and see the ridiculous number of tracks pulled from on each song (frontier psychiatrist for example has 28 samples, since i left you has 19). It also makes it very clear why there was a 16 year hiatus between this and their next LP, as it likely took them that long to turn a profit after paying all the sample clearances. also AUSTRALIA NUMBER ONE
My first exposure to Avalanches was a friend gushing over frontier psychologist. He showed me the music video and my thoughts were, "this is alright, nothing special, sounds alot like the plunderphonics of Gotye". As I soon came to realise these guys were quite ahead of their time and Gotye, Onetrix Point Never and a lot of others owe them a lot. They're started a trend amongst Australian musicians for the better and plunderphonics, although not the first, does feel distinctly Australian. In the same vein as Ozploitation Cinema. My second exposure to this band was a situation with a lesbian who ruined my life. She had great taste in music though. And thankfully she made me give them a second chance and I'm glad I did. 8/10
Talk about a proper ALBUM experience. This really takes you on a ride and never has a dull moment, a few points where I felt that I zoned out a little bit (because I was at my extremely dull job) but in fairness this album was a lot to take in on a first listen. The artists here have a good understanding of exactly when to change lanes and hit you with something unexpected or to take things down. I have listened to DJ Shadow on this list but reading about this album was the first time that I had heard the term plunderphonics. Admittedly, I don't have a great vocabulary when describing music so my best analogy for listening to this is like going on a night out early and coming home at sunrise, changing venues every half an hour as you reach peak drunkenness about three-quarters of the way through and just about everything in your night goes right for you. I will say that Avalanches is a much better name for the band than one of their earlier names "Whoops Downs Syndrome". But what can you expect from people who moved from Maryborough (cult country) to Melbourne (dickhead city). This was a phenomenal experience on multiple listens, I am very grateful to have received this as today's pick for an album, truly something that is well out of my wheelhouse. A true joy. Highlights: Since I Left You, A Different Feeling, Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life, Frontier Psychiatrist, Little Journey, Extra Kings
# Album Name: Since I Left You # Artist: The avalanches # Rating: 2/5 # Comments: Since i left you and Frontier psychiatrist are great songs. Apart from that, the rest was a very underwhelming 50 minutes. # Top Tunes: Since i left you and Frontier psychiatrist # Would I listen to it again? No. Just the two songs.
This album is very much of a time along with other white boy hip hop/sound collage stuff i listened to like Mr Scruff, the Books, Scratch Perverts, DJ Shadow. It's a lot more messy and arty than I was expecting from their singles. The inclusion of various scene setting samples gives it a real narrative / concept album feel. Despite being of its time it rarely sounds dated, due to the timelessness of the samples used.
I’ve actually discovered this band only recently. Had no idea they’d been around for as long as they have. I’ve been into editions and sample-based music since the 90s, but never came across these guys. I think it’s good, but not as good as some of their peers. I’d rather listen to Caribou, who I think they share a lot of DNA with. Still, not a bad listen by any means. 3.5/5
Good!
Happy jolly drum and samples. Raw expressive vocals ?
I knew the 2 singles, and they're both bangers. I was hoping the whole album may end up the same. Was left disappointed. 3 stars but they're for frontier psychiatrist though as that song has given me lots of joy over the years.
I vibed with this album. Reminds me a bit of the film Boy and the World, because they both feel like they tell an abstract story through collage. Favorite Track: Frontier Psychiatrist
Feels like an influence for Jungle today. I miss words sometimes but I like getting lost in an album that feels like a morphing emotion. Cool vibe for a spring day.
sound ok for a festival, I wouldn't consider it songs or songwriting. These songs are just collection of samples, put together with a rythm to put people to dance. I lost the track of the songs, song names, meanings, or special features of them. These guys just picked a lot of forgotten records, took some samples, made the loops, and pretty much all, I don't even know this is worth mentioning
It sounds nice, but something about this style of music feels incomplete. It's like they're almost songs but not quite
as a sample based producer, i can really appreciate a high quality sample based album. it's so interesting and i love all the elements to make it in a nice cohesive and funky package!
As an Australian, I got a bit excited at a “rock” and electronic album from a band that I didn’t know. The starting track was really great, and I was excited for where the rest of the album would go. However, it switched to an uninspired and music that sounded like, sound. Some tracks were decent, others just felt rubbish. Fairly disappointed.
this is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good
The Australian duo of Robbie Chater and Darren Seltzmann belong in the genre ludicrously named plunderphonics (Audio Piracy as a Compositional Prerogative, a referential and self-conscious practice which interrogates notions of originality and identity, so you know). Basically like an artist making collage from cut up bits of magazines. I’m kind of sorry I know this because this album has a reasonable degree of artistic coherence even if the listener has no knowledge as to the source of the sounds. My problem with it as a listen is the problem I have with all edm which is the highly quantised, inhuman repetition. For me art is all about the human imperfections, the cracks where the light gets in.
5/5. Such a unique album that it's hard not to include on a list like this. The production is phenomenal, it really just feels like one continuous track, with foreshadowing of future tracks with some samples and some repeated themes throughout. It just seems like they are having a lot of fun here with these samples as it shows through the chosen samples. The beats are enjoyable as well with random instruments and sounds added throughout. It's also crazy that they just dropped this as a debut. Best Song: Frontier Psychiatry, Since I Left You, Live at Dominoes
This record is a vibe and I totally dig it.
Fantastic. Frontier Psychiatrist is a true work of art. The rest of the album is really good, but that one song in particular really stands out.
I have known about this for a while, but never really understood it until a full listen. Feels like such a complete project overall. Not only do all songs kind of run into one another, but thematically it just feels very complete and kind of creates its own weird world. Its like the total opposite of the Chemical Brothers where there are looped bits, but so much development and other sounds are happening around them. I especially love the parts or samples of some of the songs which run into the next. Also it doesn'y really feel like it fits into a genre box, which is weirdly refreshing. It's so well made that with all these samples, and there's absolutely no timing mistakes at all. Favourite songs: feels very wrong to single out one so its all of them. Will definitely come back to this. Overall around 9/10
It wasn’t horrendous but no way could I listen to an hour of that
Not necessarily my jam, but it moves quickly through its tracks with pace. I'll always appreciate club music that respects the aim is to move the body in space.
I barely got through 8 songs…there is no way I could listen to over 2 hours worth. Mostly a bunch of noise. Two stars.
It’s an oft mentioned classic in Aussie music circles, it’s not really my thing but I appreciate the skill required. Good to have some Australian representation on the list anyway
Dancey, fun. Very much a product of its time. Touches of Daft Punk and Girl Talk and everything that made partying out at dance clubs in the mid 00's the best. That all said, it got a wee bit grating towards the end. Fun listen but may not come back to it over and over again. 3.5/5
I could be quite biased here as I LOVE this album but even being as objective as possible, it's hard to fault it. It was such a fresh and different sort of album when it came out, and that's now 25 years ago, unbelievably. They've taken hundreds of disparate pieces of samples, old films, crate digging nuggets and just sewn them together into a crazy patchwork that sounds like a non-stop party for a full hour. Frontier Psychiatrist is its insane centrepiece but only scratches the surface of what makes this such an enjoyable listen. It also nails the artwork and overall visual aesthetics. A true modern masterpiece.
So much crappy over sample electronica on this list.
basically the perfect combination of Having Already Listened Numerous Times and Been A Long Long Long Long Long Time Since I Last Heard for an ideal comfort revisit in the context of this project. and honestly given that i have been so fugking exhausted from work recently im gonna let myself off light here, u prob dont need me to explain why this is a good record lol. but i dont wanna waste this space so here's a few observations: (1) i forgot this record was a full hour long, i always remembered it as shorter. prob a function of the extremely melty tracklist? (2) ive always found this record very comforting but im only now realizing that idk how i would exactly precisely describe my emotional reaction to it. ig its bittersweet? maybe its the calm after the storm? or just a Too Brief eye in it? (3) an effect i often get from plunderphonics is a Dizzy one, like im falling thru an alice in wonderland rabbithole constructed of samples and i cant see the bottom and cant see the top. i dont rly feel that with this record??? maybe its the familiarity? maybe the dancey focus provides some grounding? (4) this might be an unpopular opinion, but that boy needs therapy
Eh. Electronic.
What a burst of joy! I think it’s best heard as a whole, like a Mozart concerto, to fully grasp the sample heavy grandeur of this album. Frontier Psychiatrist is a perfect example of the groundbreaking mash of spoken word, celestial choirs, and old school scratching. A masterpiece.
Quite nice. Ambient alternative electronic indie. I'd put this on again.
A most pleasant and adventurous listen. Electric is still not my usual genre, but this was an interesting trip of an album. It seamlessly flows from higher energy tracks, to funky and groovy, to dreamlike and downbeat. It feels like a journey through the universe.
Lived it. What a vibe!
My first exposure to this album, like many, came through the Frontier Psychiatrist video. A friend showed it to me around 2010 or so. It was one of those moments where I remember thinking, "I didn't know music could sound like this, or BE this." Of course I had heard groups like Daft Punk, who used a lot of samples in their music, but this was different. This was an overwhelming blast of hooks with left turns virtually every measure; and because of that, I was instantly hooked on The Avalanches. I can only imagine how early fans felt knowing that they'd have to wait 16 years for a followup album, but they were probably kept somewhat satisfied knowing they had a virtually perfect album on their hands.
There are party records and there are PARTY RECORDS that transcend mere background music to become catalysts for joy and movement, and this is undoubtedly the latter: a sample-stitched masterpiece that transforms any space into an instant celebration.
Repetitive stuff. And then there's ridiculous tracks like "Frontier Psychiatrist?" I mean, come on. I didn't know what to expect with a name like The Avalanches," hoping for a band of some sorts. Not this, I can tell you. Because the tracks bleed into each other, it w got boring pretty fast. There were one or two moments that were good, but hardly enough to put in "top tracks". Bleh. NEXT.
Australia has such a cool music scene. Sure, everyone is gaga now over Vance Joy and Tame Impala but it's a lot richer than that. Also much richer than ACDC, Midnight Oil, and INXS (the bigs of past decades). Their music scene from the 2000's might be my favorite. Still, this isn't part of it - for me. Two genres offered on Wikipedia for these guys/this album are sampledelia and plunderphonics. Sounds about right, which to me sounds over-sampled and spastic. Couldn't wait for the album to be over. But I did, which is why it didn't get a 1.
I can appreciate just how difficult it must be to create an album from around 1,000 samples and to have it flow so smoothly, but ultimately this is just cool background music to me. I tried to really seek out what makes it "great" since it's in the Top 100 of all time on RYM, but it just didn't pull me in. That said, go check this out on whosampled.com - I went through all the samples featured for Frontier Psychiatrist and it was a lot of fun - helped me appreciate the artistry a little more, but unfortunately still wasn't enough to make me want to rate the album higher. Favorite tracks: Radio, Flight Tonight, Frontier Psychiatrist, Etoh.
There is a lot to digest here so I would need to spend more time with it to really get an idea of my appreciation, but I like plunderphonics in general and there were some nice moments that grabbed me right away
I think I'll have to come back to it to really appreciate it to its real value. Still, the sample work here is just truly amazing. Here's a 3 that might get to a 4 in a close future.
That one is a real oddity. So much is going on for an hour long. I found myself totally lost in it, but I think it's a good thing. I can't explain, but I enjoyed it!
It’s fine background music. Not something I would think to put on.
Essentially an album full of samples of other people's stuff.
Not my cup of tea! Just didn't do it for me.
A nostalgia bomb that works as its own thing. It is like a hip hop group and daft punk worked together to bring back youthful summers.
Each song was very repetitive, not my vibe. Though I did like how the album blended together
Rubbish
i spent some time doing something else in the background first sometimes the tracks served as nice background music sometimes i would notice how repetitive and filled with weird noise it was despite not actively listening to it after that i started to listen more actively and before long i felt like i was stuck in a fever dream by the end of the album i had a headache that lasted for 2 hours
Classic plunderphonics album. It feels like going on a journey/cruise. You go to different places, different emotions and feelings. Paints a beautiful picture
This was way too long, way too repetitive and way too much like noise. But I did enjoy a song or two.
Zombie music. Repetitive, no musicality, this is crap.
That was amazing
This was really fun and delightful to listen to, a good mix of many genres, per its plunderphonic origin. Rating: 4.0
Listening to it as a concept album, it’s easy to get lost in its swirling textures and playful transitions. The way each track melts into the next creates a feeling of being on a surreal, nostalgic adventure, almost like flipping through radio stations as a child, each one carrying fragments of past memories. For me, the emotional core of the album comes from how it balances joy and melancholy. Flight Tonight is one of the most hypnotic and transportive tracks on Since I Left You. The way the track opens with that looping, swirling sample instantly sets the mood. The pulsing rhythm and chopped-up vocal snippets give it a sense of motion, like turbulence both literal and emotional. Where as, tracks like* Since I Left You* and* Electricity* radiate warmth, like a perfect summer day. Similar to Lemon Jelly's A Tune For Jack & The Staunton Lick. The most enjoyable part of listening was surrendering to the album’s flow. Never knowing what’s coming next but trusting that it would make sense in the grand scheme of things. It’s one of those albums where you can hear something new with every listen, catching tiny details you missed before.
Ok as random background music for doing the dishes but not something I will ever be listening to again
Considering innovation, the album stands alone. Jamming 3,000+ samples into an album when sampling technology was still in its infancy is incredible. To take it further, the album is essentially unreplicable because of ever-tightening copyright laws that prevent the free use of intellectual property. Oh, and also, it sounds cool.
Better than the other electronic albums I've received so far on this list. Not by a whole lot though, as the genre still sucks.
I got the gist of this pretty quickly. One of those "if you like it you like it" albums but I lost interest right away. Not bad, but I don't see how this is different from any other EDM.