Brooklyn’s I Am The Avalanche have received their fair share of plaudits in the past. It’s clear that with just the three albums in the last ten years that I Am The Avalanche prefer to focus on quality rather than quantity and ‘Wolverines’ is no different.
Things open up with the triumphant stompathon that is ‘Two Runaways’ which announces the band’s return with vigour and urgency on an open ended riff that blends effortlessly into a catchy chorus. I Am The Avalanche have a distinctive style, Vinnie Caruana’s vocals are second to none and I can’t think of many bands at all that do what this band do. You only need to look at the likes of ‘Young Kerouacs’ or ‘177’ to see what I mean, two songs that retain a sense of heaviness while never scrimping on the melody.
There are two big stand out moments, one of them comes in the form of the anthemic ‘Where Were You’ which is destined to become a live favourite, it’s a song made to be sung back at the band with everything you have. The other comes in the form of ‘Anna Lee’ which might be the best song on the album… it has one of the biggest choruses you’ll hear this year and lyrics which will resonate with just about everyone that hears them. It’s an incredible bit of all round song writing that deserves to be heard in a live environment.
The thing is… I Am The Avalanche are back. ‘Wolverines’ isn’t just a good album, it’s the sort of album that’ll be at the top end of most end of year lists come December. It joins the select few records that have propelled this year and the result is one of the most accomplished records and you’ll hear this year. An absolute triumph from start to finish.
CHRIS MARSHMAN