The Avalanches Return with 'No Bad Memories'

Corporate Jingle Decay

The Avalanches have never been a band to work with traditional palettes, but their latest project takes the concept of found sound to its logical, and perhaps most uncanny, conclusion. The Australian electronic pioneers have announced their fourth studio album, No Bad Memories, a record forged from the discarded sonic debris of our collective childhoods: corporate jingles, start-up chimes, and the fleeting textures of mid-century advertising.

Set for an October 16 release, the album functions as an ambivalent love letter to the marketing machinery that helped define the modern era. The group describes the project as an exploration of the paradox inherent in consumer media—the way these sounds were designed to sell us unobtainable dreams, yet ultimately etched themselves permanently into our psyches. By manipulating these fragments, the band has transformed the clinical, calculated aesthetic of the boardroom into something unexpectedly human.

"It’s been interesting as adults to reflect on this often stunning period of marketing," the group noted. "The way we value devices and products; the way we reflect and represent a life lived; the wonder of memory and deep power of nostalgia, especially in sound."

The Heart of the Machine

In anticipation of the full project, the band has shared a new single, "Can’t Get Over Losing You," featuring Portraits of Tracy. The track serves as a masterclass in the Avalanches' signature style, blending heavy, propulsive garage-rock drumming with the airy, emotive vocals of the American multi-instrumentalist. It is a vibrant, driving cut that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly immediate, a testament to the ongoing evolution of the band’s sound, which our editors here at WAXMGZINE have long tracked with intrigue.

Robbie Chater of the duo expressed immense admiration for their collaborator, labeling Portraits of Tracy a "generational talent" whose songwriting possesses the rare ability to consistently break hearts. The sentiment is mutual; Tracy described the recording process as an organic connection that evolved from initial sessions in 2024 into the polished, melancholic pop gem arriving today.

A Legacy of Re-contextualization

No Bad Memories follows a string of recent, high-profile previews, including the haunting "Blue Shadows" with Karen O and the dance-floor-ready "Every Single Weekend" featuring Jamie xx. These collaborations underscore the band’s ability to remain at the vanguard of electronic music, bridging the gap between underground sample culture and mainstream pop sensibilities.

Beyond the recording studio, the band continues to maintain a vigorous live presence. Following recent sets at Primavera Sound Barcelona, the group is preparing for a series of headline London shows as part of the Pitchfork Music Festival this November. As they move further from the shadow of their landmark 2000 debut, Since I Left You, the Avalanches seem less concerned with living up to the weight of their own past, and more interested in discovering what new, beautiful things can be built from the pieces we leave behind.