As a friend of mine once said, “there ain’t no party like an Avalanche Party” (thank you Mr. P) and now it is time for another huge party with the AP boys. Their sophomore album is upon us, well it will be this Friday. It is called ‘Der Traum Über Alles’ which I believe translates to “the dream above all”. Their debut album hit the world in 2019 and they toured like fuck until that big disease with a little name (to paraphrase Prince) stopped them. When the world began crawling out of that bad Covid bubble they hit the road again. This time across Europe in support of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Eventually the band found themselves in the Joshua Tree National Park in California at Rancho De La Luna studio in 2022 to record their new album. The record was engineered and produced by Dave Catching who has previously worked with Queens Of The Stone Age, Iggy Pop and the Arctic Monkeys.
The album opens with the towering (no pun intended) “John Coltrane’s Moscow Skyscraper”. the song starts in an almost chilled, subdued way and then transforms into an absolute monster as it moves to a mountainous, manic, maniacal conclusion. This is 100% psych-metal with a slight hint of LCD Sound System, but much, much darker. Jordan’s voice sounds like it might be careering up from the depths of hell and the sound might be the band smashing Satan into tiny pieces. Next up it is “Nureyev Said It Best”. This is a humongous tune. It has dance, it has rock, it has psych, it has funk and so much more. It kicks off with mountainous drumming from Kane which seems to be influenced by native American and African Burundi drums. This band sounds like no other right now, Jordan’s vocal take here is perhaps his best yet. Jared’s guitar work feels like it has travelled here from the 1970s and he has then turned it into a 21st Century master class in axe-manship. The whole track is cinematic in scope and it rocks like an absolute bastard. “No Neutral” is classic Avalanche Party and I can see this becoming a regular in their live set. The drums are thunderous and the warped psych guitar and keys give the track a depth that would hit the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
With “Shake The Slack” the band have uncovered their talent for dirty garage blues. It has a punky psychedelic dance edge. This chorus will rock the fuck out of every venue they play this year and many years after! The metronomic drum beat and languid bass and guitar that opens “Ecstasy” is hypnotic and Jordan’s vocal makes the song sound like U2, and I mean that in a good way, like back when U2 were fucking good. The first single to be released from the album was “Serious Dance Music”. You probably wouldn’t play this song at a work event! I sense an Amazing Snakeheads influence in this fast-paced, frenzied, frenetic, funky, feral, fest of a song. The band all seem to be in top form, especially Kane’s drumming. The music on “The Noise Between Us” is frantic and Jordan’s vocal is urgent and emotional. It has an 80s dark rock feel that borders into goth territory. It slows briefly about two thirds of the way in and then has a magnificent long fade with some simple but perfect keys from Glen. This is one of my favourite tracks in this collection.
Joe’s bass feels ready to punch the fuck out of you when it opens glam blues stomper “Slinky”. The brass has a kind of T. Rex vibe and the counterpoint vocal adds a layer of dark weirdness. The 60s psych organ sound and freak out saxophone bursts make this one really stand out. “Chainz” opens with a series of explosive sounds that might make it a rock ‘n’ roll equivalent of Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’. But then it moves into a slow groove which would be a perfect soundtrack to one of the creepier scenes in a Wes Craven horror film. The band show their punk and post punk credentials on “Target”. With maybe a bit of added Tin Machine. This is another banger that I believe will be a staple of the band’s live set. The album closes with “Collateral Damage”, a danceable slice of weird twisted pop. It has a deeply dark stygian funk underpinning it through bass and drums that feel like they emanate from somewhere on Dante’s journey below. The keyboard hooks mesmerise while the guitar riffs overpower the listener with ease. Jordan’s vocal is magnificent. The track takes some of the finest tranches of alternative 80s rock and early goth and repurposes them into a shape that perfectly fits the 21st century.
I know it is only February, but Avalanche Party have set the bar for album of the year and they have set it higher than the peak of Sagarmatha! There is no sophomore slump for these boys. ‘Der Traum Über Alles’ is even better than their debut album ’24 Carat Diamond Trephine’. I will be playing the hell out of this album. Especially after my hand made coloured vinyl version arrives!
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