Since I Left You
The Avalanches are a much-feted six-man crew of sample addicts from Australia whose debut album,Since I Left You, is a bargain-bin vinyl throwback to the Daisy Age. This album is constructed like a mix tape and calculated to tweak the dance floor. Snatches of familiar rhythms bubble up throughout, giving the record a comfortable lived-in feel but also betraying the fact that the group hasn't dug very far through the crates to source their raw material. There's little doubt that this kind of sample reconstruction has become standard fare for retrogressive adolescents with precious little musical flair and a mania for collecting records. The Avalanches get full marks for their seamless mixing skills, but otherwise it all feels way too tidy, bristling with its own inventiveness when it should be striving for something that transcends its influences.--Chris Campion