The Avalanches are Australia's latest pop stars, a gang of six DJ's who revel in sampling hundreds of old records and stitching them together to create new collages of sound. The result is a seriously deranged debut album, full of weird nautical and animal noises blended with surreal pieces of hip-hop. In less skilful hands it could have been a disaster but in fact most of Since I Left You is full of pop hooks and sounds tailor-made for the dance floor. For sheer originality alone, the Avalanches deserve high marks - this is a strong contender for dance album of the year.
