Yorkshires Avalanche Party must have wondered what they had done in a previous life, such was the struggle to produce their second album. The global pandemic prevented them from recording Der Traum Uber Alles, as originally scheduled, at Rancho De La Luna studio in California’s Joshua Tree with producer Dave Catching. In addition the studio they had built in Middlesborough flooded a couple of days before they went on tour in Europe with ….And You Will Know Us By The Trail of the Dead. Persistance prevailed and the recording finally took place at Rancho De La Luna, with the resulting album is set for release on 7 February via AMK, Kartel Music Group’s alternative music imprint.
Der Traum Uber Alles translates literally as “the dream above all” which could easily be a mantra for its creation. Sliding doors means we’ll never know if this is the album that would have been produced two years earlier. What we do know is that the follow up to 2019’s 24 Carat Diamond Trephine is a shot of serotonin, much needed in these turbulent times. 14 songs were recorded in 10 days and the pent up creatively bursts forth throughout.
Opener ‘John Coltrane’s Moscow Skyscraper’ seems to start conventionally enough but this is Avalanche Party. Quickly the pace lifts and an edgy twitchy energy turns into a wall of sound, led by a guitar riff which hooks in the listener. By the end it is utterly glorious mayhem.
Funky ‘Nureyev Said It Best’ follows, but this is akin to a runaway train, the frantic pace is impossible isn’t it? Apparently not. The exuberance continues on ‘No Neutral’ followed by ‘Shake The Slack’ , which is firmly rooted in the punk funk of 1990’s New York with its jangly guitars and shouty chorus.
There are tender moments too. ‘Ecstasy’ is a love song full of lyrics from the depths of the soul. Yet as it progresses it grows in its edginess perhaps reflecting the unfathomable impact of love on our very being. The lead vocals here of Jordan Bell deliver a range and emotive power which tug at the very gut as ‘Ecstasy’ continues to build.
When Avalanche Party say ‘Serious Dance Music’ you wonder if it’s dance music that’s serious or SERIOUS dance music. Trust me, its the latter. This is a highlight, an out and out banger and I defy the listener not to listen twice. At just two minutes it’s one of the shorter tracks but its quality not quantity that counts. Live this will be crazy in the crowd. The drums of Kane Waterfield are thunderous. ‘The Noise Between Us’ soars, lifting the emotion again, before ‘Slinky’ takes the vibe in a completely different direction, the stonking saxophone of Jared Thorpe creating a stomping rhythm. ‘Chainz’ reminds us we’re in the desert. What is that opening? Rattlesnakes? ‘Chainz’ weaves a mystical magic, a track full of hypnotic beauty. Off kilter and twitchy, Avalanche Party stretch their collective creative muscles on Der Traum Uber Alles, and the results are beguiling on ‘Chainz’.
‘Target’ takes us back to exuberant guitars and drums and a track to simply lose yourself in. That blanket of sound envelopes the listener, wrapping them up in its sonic soundscape its urgency a result of wondrous tight instrumentation. Another track when heard live the crowd will not want to end. And so to closer ‘Collateral Damage‘ a cranking industrial powerhouse of a song to round off the album. “No questions” is on repeat throughout. How can these two words within the context of the title resonate so much? Sadly it’s the world we currently live in. Thank goodness then for Avalanche Party and their second album. Get it on the turntable, crank up the volume, and dance.
For more details on Avalanche Party please check their facebook and instagram.
