Fans of Aussie music icons The Avalanches are undoubtedly looking to the future with some cautious optimism, with the Melbourne outfit raising suspicions of a new record following an Instagram blackout.
As even the most casual fan of The Avalanches would be aware, they’re not exactly the most punctual group when it comes to new records. While their 2000 debut, Since I Left You, is often considered one of the finest records to ever emerge from Australia, it took them a full 16 years to release the critically-acclaimed Wildflower.
Of course, this lengthy wait wasn’t exactly due to the group sitting on their hands. Rather, while lineup changes and sample clearance issues halted their progress somewhat, Robbie Chater was sidelined with two auto-immune diseases during this period, leaving him unable to create any new music.
Though the arrival of Wildflower brought with it countless jokes amongst fans in regards to beginning another 16-year wait for album number three, The Avalanches seemed much more confident in regards to a quicker turnaround.
In fact, while 2017 brought with it news that they were already hunting for samples for their new record, 2018 saw them reveal that their “third album is taking shape and we can’t wait to share it with you all. It’s already something very special.”
The biggest update came in November of last year though, when the group noted they had just undertaken their “final session of album 3 with the Australian Boys Choir.” Unfortunately, no updates followed from the outfit as to what was coming next, though their remix of The Chemical Brothers’ ‘Out of Control’ did appear only days later.
However, if you’re eager to fact-check these updates by heading to their Instagram page, you may just run into a spot of bother, with The Avalanches’ official Instagram page going dark over the weekend.
As most fans of music in the social media age would likely be aware, a social media blackout of this calibre generally indicates the arrival of something new. Most famously, Radiohead employed this tactic ahead of the release of 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, with their Twitter and Facebook accounts being deleted, while their website went completely blank.
Of course, with so many years between their first and second albums, fans are right to be cautious about expecting a new song or album so soon after their last record. However, considering a since-deleted Instagram post claimed that new music would arrive in 2019, there’s every chance we could be witnessing the return of The Avalanches very soon.
At this stage, no details of the group’s third album have been formally released, though sporadic social media posts have revealed the group have been working with Leon Bridges, Cornelius, JPEGMAFIA, Josh Freese, Wayne Coyne, The East Coast Inspirational Singers, and Cola Boyy.
