Avalanche City - Our New Life Above The Ground

Avalanche City hail from Auckland, New Zealand and are finally ready to unleash their debut album on the musically discerning British public. The wonderfully life affirming calling card ‘Love Love Love’ opens the record with a flourish whilst on the other side of the relationship stability spectrum we have the sedate camp fire break up tale ‘Love Don’t Leave’ with it’s subtly layered production.

As with Mumford & Sons there is a certain spiritual undertone that compliments the themes of freedom, escape and perseverance. It’s not all serious chin stroking and stern faced introspection though, the breezy ‘You And I’ sidestepping romantic cliches with a generous dose of wit. We even get a spot of whistling on the unshakeably catchy ‘Sunset’ with it’s cute doe eyed romanticism of stealing love songs. When they strip proceedings back to just guitar and vocals on ‘How Long’ they prove equally adept, the raw emotion of the subject matter given space to breathe while tugging at the listeners heartstrings.

The rich sound that underpins proceedings is the product of a diverse range of instruments from piano accordion, glockenspiel and ukulele to the curiously named manjo (a cross between a mandolin and banjo if you were wondering) Their other key weapon is the expressive tones of frontman Dave Baxter though why he morphs into Frank Turner on ‘Go’ is anybody’s guess. Maybe it’s obligatory when your lyric sheet contains the likes of ‘you know that we belong in the arms of the sea’

Just when you have Avalanche City safely pigeonholed along comes ‘Snow’, a Sigur Ros like number which builds from a long instrumental intro to a majestic string drenched piece where the word snow is repeated to dramatic effect. It’s one of those heart stopping moments that ends the record in a way which leaves a wonderfully indelible impression.

‘Our New Life Above The Ground’ is a gorgeously crafted collection of songs which effortlessly balances quiet reflection with freewheeling joyous abandonment. Whether you’re approaching summer on the hunt for romance or punching through heartbreak, let this be your soundtrack.