The Avalanches New Album This Year?

It has to be one of, if not THE most speculated over album of the last few years - the follow up to The Avalanches' monstrous debut Since I Left You. Well, if you can hold the Australian group to their word, it would appear that the long wait is almost over, with the LP apparently set to drop sometime this year (which would be a mighty 12 years since their debut). Speaking to Pitchfork about the long-delayed release, indie folkster Jennifer Herrema stated, "They said the album is definitely going to come out this year."

So how come this 'Jennifer Herrema' character has been chatting with the group? Well, the American songstress recently teamed up with the legendary samplers for a collaboration called The Stepkids, which is apparently to feature on the new album and was tweeted about by the group last December (so we're pretty sure she's not telling fibs).

Herrema says the collaboration "came out of the blue" when Robbie Chater of the Avalanches emailed her hoping she'd be up for writing lyrics to the song. "They know tons of people, but they obviously felt that I was going to write the right lyrics to it-- that was cool," she said.

Based on the framework track Chater sent her, Herrema came up with a melody line, vocals, and lyrics - the latter of which you can see below. She describes the sound of The Stepkids as, "very melancholy-- this little teenage-street-kid melancholy. I can identify with being young and lost. I remember times when I was really fucked up. You do stuff that you need to do to get by, but you still have a conscience." Herrema is awaitng to hear a more finalised version of the track. 

So there you have it! Let's just cross our fingers that they stay true to their word.

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