Fans of folk music worldwide have certainly embraced New Zealand group Avalanche City’s debut album Our New Life Above The Ground. What started as an online album has become of this years highest selling folk albums… so are the masses correct in loving this album?
Well, it doesn’t take much of a listen to realise what the hype is about, Our New Life Above The Ground is absolutely sensational. It is little wonder that the opening track ‘Love Love Love’ is getting radio play because this is as smooth as a summer breeze. Such is the talent of Avalanche City that even short tracks like ‘Everybody Knows’ sound remarkably sweet.
The song-writing talents of the band are there for all to hear on the great sounding ‘Drive On’, while Dave Baxter’s vocals really shine through on ‘The Streets’ and ‘The Citizens’, the latter also contains some real thought-provoking lyrics.
The faster beat of ‘You And I’ can induce some foot tapping while the beautiful lyrics of ‘Love Don’t Leave’ win you over in a second. ‘Go’ sees the album return to hits catchy side while the great mix of rock and folk on ‘Ends In The Ocean/Oh Life’ is enough to silence anyone out there who dares to show hate towards the folk genre.
‘How Long’ is yet another short but sweet track while the melody of ‘The Silence’ is an absolute standout. Our New Life Above The Ground then closes with the extremely angelic ‘Snow’, a track that I found myself drawn to so much I started to listen to over and over.
This is a stunning debut from a band that will only get better and better as time goes on.
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