Wednesday February 3, 2021 “Divine Chord” The Avalanches
Let's slip into 2021 for a moment with an interesting group and an interesting song which is a bit unusual in the way it was put together, but still so infectious.
I really don’t understand The Avalanches. Who are they, do they just sample music and then reach out to other artists to put together a recording, are they a real band or are they producers, DJs?
This ‘group’ was founded by an Australian duo Robbie Chater and Darrin Seltmann who were in a couple of short-lived bands together, most notably the Swinging Monkey Cocks, no I didn’t make that up, I’m just not that clever or perverse. Then they became dance music DJs making their name for sampling tunes and pasting together songs, much like ELO did back in the day.
Vocals on this gem are handled by Johnny Marr who co-founded the group The Smiths and has a history with the Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, and the Cribs, and he has become a prolific session musician and was voted as the fourth best guitarist of the last thirty years in a recent BBC reader poll. Not sure who the first three guitarists are but will leave that to you.
This tune comes from The Avalanches second album/CD “We Will Always Love You” released sixteen years after their debut album/CD, apparently it takes a while to pull all these samples together. So who are The Avalanches, no idea.
Stay safe and well...and close your eyes and dream through this delightful pop gem, but be prepared because when the song ends it does so unexpectedly and immediately.