The Avalanches - No Bad Memories (2026)
A colourful and inventive electronic collage, filled with nostalgic samples, interesting collaborations and occasional flashes of brilliance, but ultimately too fragmented and inconsistent to become a particularly rewarding listening experience.
With No Bad Memories, The Avalanches return with another ambitious exploration of sampling, nostalgia and musical experimentation. The album brings together thirty-one tracks in just over fifty-two minutes, combining electronic music, soul, disco, psychedelic pop and fragments of old advertisements and television jingles. It's a fascinating concept, and the production is certainly imaginative, but I find the results considerably less convincing than the ideas behind them.
What I appreciate most is the creativity of the arrangements. The Avalanches have an impressive ability to combine completely unrelated sounds, transforming forgotten recordings, vocal samples and electronic textures into something new. There are plenty of interesting production details throughout the album, and some transitions are genuinely clever. However, impressive production techniques don't necessarily make for memorable music.
“Blue Shadows”, featuring Karen O, is my favourite track. I particularly appreciate the more melodic approach and the way her distinctive voice provides a clear identity to the composition. The combination of nostalgic textures, gentle electronic arrangements and expressive vocals creates one of the album's most engaging moments. Unlike many of the shorter pieces, it feels like a proper song rather than a collection of interesting samples. It's also one of the few tracks I genuinely want to revisit.
“Together” is another enjoyable moment, with its energetic rhythms and colourful production. “Every Single Weekend”, featuring Jamie xx, brings a welcome dancefloor influence, although I would have appreciated a more developed arrangement. “All The Time In The World” offers some accessible pop melodies, while “Highfield”, featuring Panda Bear, introduces an appealing psychedelic atmosphere.
The second half contains a few other interesting compositions. “One More Fantasy” has an attractive nostalgic quality, and “Magic Wand” benefits from Barry Can't Swim's electronic sensibility. I also appreciate certain atmospheric passages on “Our Love Is Alive” and the delicate conclusion provided by “The Pavements Light”, featuring Haruomi Hosono. Unfortunately, these moments are scattered across a tracklist that constantly interrupts its own momentum.
My main problem with the album is its excessive fragmentation. With thirty-one tracks and numerous interludes lasting less than a minute, the listening experience becomes increasingly frustrating. Just when an interesting melody or rhythm begins to develop, the music often changes direction completely. I understand that this approach is central to the Avalanches' identity, but I find it difficult to connect with compositions that rarely have enough time to establish themselves.
The constant use of advertising samples, spoken fragments and short electronic experiments also becomes rather tiresome. While these elements reinforce the album's concept, they don't always contribute much musically. Some transitions feel more like clever production exercises than meaningful parts of a larger composition. I often have the impression that the band is more interested in demonstrating what can be done with samples than in creating songs that I would actually want to hear again.
Another limitation is the lack of cohesion. The album moves between dance music, soul, psychedelic pop, ambient passages and experimental electronics without always establishing convincing connections. This diversity is impressive on paper, but the constant changes in atmosphere make the overall experience feel somewhat disjointed. The numerous guest appearances add variety, yet only a handful result in particularly memorable collaborations.
I also find that the album lacks strong melodic development. There are plenty of attractive musical fragments, but relatively few compositions build towards a satisfying conclusion. The best moments suggest that The Avalanches are still capable of creating beautiful and emotionally engaging music, which makes the excessive reliance on interludes and fragmented arrangements even more disappointing.
Ultimately, No Bad Memories is an interesting but rather uneven electronic album. I appreciate the creativity, the sophisticated production and the occasional beautiful melodies, particularly on “Blue Shadows”. However, the excessive number of short tracks, constant stylistic changes and lack of fully developed compositions prevent me from enjoying the record as a whole. I admire the technical achievement more than the actual listening experience, and despite several enjoyable moments, I doubt this is an album I will return to very often.
64/100
❤️ Favourite track: “Blue Shadows” (feat. Karen O)
+ Inventive sample-based production with plenty of interesting sonic details
+ Some beautiful melodic moments, particularly “Blue Shadows”
+ Impressive variety of musical influences and occasional successful collaborations
– Excessive fragmentation and too many unnecessary interludes
– Constant stylistic changes undermine the album's cohesion
– Too few fully developed compositions or genuinely memorable melodies
Genre: Plunderphonics
Country: Australia
Final Verdict: 64% (Good Album)
Yearly Ranking: 370th / 761
Highlight: Blue Shadow
Made me think of:
DJ Shadow
Panda Bear
Caribou
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