{"id":9683,"date":"2019-11-27T05:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-11-27T05:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=9683"},"modified":"2019-11-24T14:30:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-24T14:30:33","slug":"avalanche-party-24-carat-diamond-trephine-so-knee-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=9683","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche Party \u2013 \u201924 Carat Diamond Trephine\u2019 (So Knee Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Known for their incendiary live shows, Avalanche Party are a feral garage rock 5 piece from the North Yorkshire Moors. Cited by Radio 1 as \u201cthe most exciting rock \u2018n\u2019 roll band in the UK right now\u201d, singer Jordan Bell and his band of miscreants have a lot to live up to with their debut album \u201924 Carat Diamond Trephine\u2019. Their raw, live energy is not at question here, the question is can they transfer that wild, untamed energy from the hot and sweaty UK clubs to record? Let\u2019s drop the needle and turn it up to 11!<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018El Dorado\u2019 lulls the listener into a false sense of security with its haunting vibes. It creates stark imagery in black and white with stabs of piano and understated harmonica, as singer Jordan Bell croons his lyrics softly, almost spoken word. This murder ballad is a more poetic and cinematic introduction to the album in pure Nick Cave\/Warren Ellis style. As an opening track it works perfectly and much better in the context of an album than as a standalone track.
\nLet\u2019s get one thing straight, this is not a party album, this is a dark and desolate trip, much like the cold and rugged terrain where Avalanche Party reside. Recorded in York last December, it has the ghost of close friend Dale Barklay (The Amazing Snakeheads\/As It Moves frontman) all over it. Dale was a big influence on the band in the last few years of his life and his energy is kept alive here.
\n\u2018Bugzy\u2019 and \u20187\u2019 follow the opener in quick succession. The former is a 70\u2019s inspired Doors\/Stooges groover with added Avalanche eccentricities. The latter, a high octane blast of punk rock noise that captures the feel of an Avalanche Party gig to maximum effect.
\n\u2018Howl\u2019 has 70\u2019s glam vibes from the off with hand claps and cool as you like vocalisin\u2019, coming on like early Bowie meets The Birthday Party. A great, anthemic chorus takes things up a level. It\u2019s a good place to be.
\nAlready, this is the sound of a band who are riding the crest of a wave. 5 years of constant touring, honing their craft in sweaty clubs and festival stages all over the world has seen Avalanche Party come of age; it truly feels like this is their time.
\nBut while the melodies and refrains are instant and lasting, it is not an easy listen. This is an album of stark contrasts and sonically seductive moments. To go from the piano led \u2018Hey Misdemeanour\u2019 with its haunting female backing vocals and strings n\u2019 things, to the relentless and unnerving \u2018Playing Field Blues\u2019 with its stabs of guitar, drums and wailing vocals, and to make it sound like it is just meant to be…this is something truly special and something their contemporaries cannot match.<\/p>\n

Props to the rhythm section of Joe Bell (bass) and Kane Waterfield (drums), they absolutely kill it on this record. Falsetto vocals come to light throughout bringing an epic grandiose feel to the likes of \u2018Cruel Madness\u2019 and the trashy but pumping \u2018Milk And Sunlight Is A Heavy Dream\u2019.
\nIf you were a new band and you had a song like \u2018Rebel Forever\u2019 in your arsenal, you would probably open the album with it, but with Avalanche Party you can expect the unexpected. They close the album in style with a song that can outdo Fontaines DC in the \u201cwho can sound like Joy Division the most\u201d stakes, and they sign off with an absolute banger. High octane, edgy rock \u2018n\u2019 roll noise just the way we like it.<\/p>\n

Most bands are at their best on their first album and spend the rest of their careers trying to reach the same dizzy heights. If this is Avalanche Party\u2019s piece de resistance, then so be it. Its early days, but I feel whatever they do in the future, this will be go down in history as their \u2018In Utero\u2019, their very own \u2018The Holy Bible\u2019. \u201924 Carat Diamond Trephine\u2019 is Avalanche Party\u2019s defining moment, and one of the best debut album of the year.<\/p>\n

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Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n

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