- It's hard to think of something that has fallen so far out of fashion as turntablism. The practice is now at best a cultural artefact with increasingly niche interest groups. And yet turntablism's inherent musical qualities have become ubiquitous to the point of being implicit. Unbridled sampling, grab-bag nostalgia, mashups, audio manipulation, deep record digging, sly self-referencing—any to all of the pillars of a once underground community are now standards of popular music. Thank artists like Coldcut, DJ Shadow, Geoff Barrow, DJ Spooky, Cut Chemist, Mix Master Mike and Peanut Butter Wolf for proliferating a creative ethos that values history, humor, ingenuity, eclecticism and beats.
And thank The Avalanches. If the Australian group never exactly embodied the style, they at least embraced its soul. What started as a noisy band of Melbourne teens in the mid-'90s became a musical myth for record nerds and nascent dance music fans alike after the turn of the century. Everyone knows why: Since I Left You. By streamlining the tenets of turntablism and using them to craft a kaleidoscopic party record (one that was somehow part mixtape, part DJ set, part live performance and entirely original), The Avalanches gave dance music one of its most beloved albums. Since I Left You had as much in common with Endtroducing.....'s sampladelia as it did Homework's gleeful abandon.
As the saying goes, you've got your whole life to write your first record—Since I Left You comprised some 900 lifetimes in its samples alone. That feat of production coupled with the pre-Web 2.0 style of music consumption made for a perfect storm. So this much should be obvious 16 years later: Wildflower is a very different record from Since I Left You. Whether because of factors like success, changing influences, label pressure, legal issues or the era it's entering, The Avalanches' second album has more to do with hip-hop, psych-folk and vocal pop than disco and rare groove. But the careful, casual touch of core producers Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi is still evident from the start. 17-second intro "The Leaves Were Falling" is a bramble of dusty snippets—AM radio rock, distant chatter, street noise, giggling, etc.—that sets a warm, playful tone. The first sound is a girl saying, "Hi," and later in the background a boy postures, "No motherfuckers gonna fuck with me."
These kinds of moments riddle Wildflower's 21-track, hour-long runtime. If Since I Left You was the record you put on to get a house party started, this one might be best for backyard BBQs and walking through the bustle of summertime city streets. There's a relaxed quality to the bright, gregarious music as much as there's endless detail to be pored over. A golden-era hip-hop jam like "Because I'm Me" begs to be blasted from a cruising car stereo, just as the funky stepper "Subways" might need a roller rink to be fully appreciated. But a couple tracks later, "Colours" weaves a tapestry of vocal harmonies and bucolic folk, before "Zap!" floats back down to Earth on samples of strings, birds and harmonica. In the music's rich embrace is a classic monologue about flying from the 1984 street-kid documentary Streetwise. That sort of diverse, evocative sequencing might be where Since I Left You concedes to Wildflower: this album tells a deeper story that only grows more vibrant with every listen.
It's not all roses, though. Live vocals have long been purported to be a part of the second Avalanches album, not to mention parts of a record Chater has described as a "hip-hop Yellow Submarine," so the presence of Biz Markie, Ariel Pink, Danny Brown, Toro Y Moi and many others should be no surprise. But some of them do interrupt Wildflower's otherwise graceful flow. The Oompa Loompa rap of "Frankie Sinatra" sounds like a psychedelic farce after Camp Lo's triumphant verses in "Because I'm Me." As much dumb fun as "The Noisy Eater" can be, Biz Markie's campy lines about eating Cap'n Crunch ultimately feel out of place. "The Wozard Of Iz" is a gorgeous flowerchild dreamscape until Danny Brown appears out of nowhere with his typically crass flow. "Live A Lifetime Love" is more seamless, with its juxtaposition of rap and '60s pop motifs, though, and songs like Toro Y Moi's "If I Was A Folkstar" and "Stepkids," with Royal Trux's Jennifer Herrema, sound as if they might be lost gems from that era.
At times the record's omnivorous appetite can mean it loses sight of itself, awkwardly flirting with calypso, cramming in vocalists or forgetting the simple power of a classic disco beat. Sometimes, the less Chater and Di Blasi seem to be doing (like on airy sample blend "Light Up" or "Going Home"'s filter-funk) the more Wildflower makes sense. There may be no spiritual sequels to fan favorites like "Since I Left You" and "Frontier Psychiatrist," but continuity remains in the joy, freedom and transcendent artistry. It's what makes the celebratory vocal-pop of "Harmony" transition flawlessly into "Live A Lifetime Love"'s nostalgic hip-hop, or turns the basic sample flips of "Sunshine" into a stunning soul song. Nothing about Wildflower is new, flashy or remotely fashionable—its only concern is to adorn everyday life in the untarnished colors of music.
Tracklist01. The Leaves Were Falling
02. Because I'm Me
03. Frankie Sinatra
04. Subways
05. Going Home
06. If I Was A Folkstar
07. Colours
08. Zap!
09. The Noisy Eater
10. Wildflower
11. Harmony
12. Live A Lifetime Love
13. Park Music
14. Livin' Underwater (Is Somethin' Wild)
15. The Wozard Of Iz
16. Over The Turnstiles
17. Sunshine
18. Light Up
19. Kaleidoscopic Lovers
20. Stepkids
21. Saturday Night Inside Out