The Avalanches

At 7:00am this morning The Avalanches updated their official website with an image of a gold butterfly on black fabric. Does this mean their long awaited follow-up to masterful 2000 debut, Since I Left You, is on the way? As doubtful as I am, the image does reignite the small flame of hope that’s slowly turned to charred embers over years. Not only have The Avalanches updated their website with the image, but also their Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as their Instagram account that appears to have sprung up from nowhere.

Of course this isn’t the first (or second, or third, or fourth) time fans have been duped by The Avalanches. Ever since they began work on their sophomore album way back in 2005 there has been talk of new songs and release dates without anything coming to fruition. To help illustrate that point, below is a list of all the times a new Avalanches record has been hinted at.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpqm-05R2Jk]

August 2006: Modular Recordings issue a press release stating, “it’s sounding like everything we dared not hope for, and so much more. They’ve made the record of their lives basically.”

January 2007: The Avalanches take to their official website to announce, “It’s a really thrilling time for us right now as this record comes together, it’s so fuckin party you will die, much more hip-hop than you might expect, and while there is still no accurate estimated time of arrival, were sure you’re gonna love it when it arrives … much of last year was spent cutting up the spoken word/instructional records we need to tell the albums musical story, and we have some 40 odd songs we’re narrowing down and finishing.”

December 2008: Modular head honcho Steven “Pav” Pavlovic claims he expects to receive the album on Christmas Day.

January 2010: Triple J announce the new album will drop later in the year but go on to retract that statement.

July 2011: Since I Left You claims the No. 9 spot on the Triple J Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time. The band take to Facebook with this message, “Thanks to all who voted. Tune in now to hear Robbie speak about the making of Since I Left You on Triple J. Info on new Avalanches material to follow shortly.”… No new material follows shortly.

December 2011: Avalanches take to Twitter to post the lyrics to new song Stepkids but the song is never released.

January 2012: American singer Jennifer Herrema reveals she recorded material with The Avalanches.

March 2012: America rapper Danny Brown discusses a song he recorded with the group called Frank Sinatra.

August 2012: A demo track entitled A Cowboy Overflow of the Heart is released, featuring a poem composed and read by David Berman over production from The Avalanches.

September 2013: The Avalanches release a remix of Hunters & Collectors‘ first single Talking To A Stranger for the Crucible tribute album.

February 2014: An official statement from Modular states Darren Seltmann is no longer part of the band but the “Album sounds awesome, but there’s no dates or anything planned. The official line is ‘stay tuned.'”

June 2014: In an interview Jennifer Herrema mentions the album is going to be released in three weeks. It isn’t.

October 2015: Once again Modular announce on Facebook that fans should “stand by for news on forthcoming releases from…The Avalanches,” with nothing coming of it.

February 2016: The Avalanches have surpassed the 10-year record set by Guns ‘n Roses for Chinese Democracy being the longest album to ever be recorded.

As you can see, the chances of The Avalanches actually releasing a new song, let alone are full length album are slim. Until I then I’ll keep re-vising Since I Left You and continue to enjoy one of the greatest debut albums this country has ever produced.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLrnkK2YEcE]

Image: Stereogum

It was the start of the twenty-first century, fifteen years ago, that The Avalanches released their latest original material – their debut album, Since I Left You. Aside from a few covers and remixes here and there, as well as a teased collaboration between them and Danny Brown, fans haven’t had any new info from the group in quite a while. That is until now, but the news isn’t exactly welcome.

Frontman Darren Seltmann has parted ways with the group. In actual fact, the news came early last year, as early as February, but hasn’t been properly reported on until now.

The news came originally in a Melbourne Herald Sun interview with Seltmann’s wife Sally, where she said plainly that “he’s not in the Avalanches any more.” “Nobody seems to pick up on that..”, she continued. Quite right, no one’s picked up on it for over a year now. The band’s label, Modular Records, also provided a statement, confirming Darren’s departure. “Yep Darren hasn’t been in the band for a while,” the rep told the Herald Sun. “So officially the band is Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi now.”

The loss of a member is nothing new for the group. In total, they’ve now lost seven members of the band, with this latest departure now bringing it down to a duo. That said, the Modular rep did confirm an album in the works, saying that it “sounds awesome.”

Be on the edge of your seat for more info.