I have a confession to make; I started writing this review in October 2023. October 2nd to be precise, when I eagerly listened to Avalanche for the first time . It was only when I delved into my Spotify Wrapped towards the end of last year that I noticed that, despite the fact Jenny Owen Youngs was one of my top listened artists (Peaking in October), the review remained in my drafts, yet to be finalized and submitted.
2023 was a funny old year all-round. I could have listened to the album once, boofed out my initial ‘bit Beth Ortony’ impression, and moved on. But there is no room for half-arsedness when you are a Picky Bastard. I’m also one of those soft touches who believes that every album tells a story, and I owe it to the artist to hear it more than once. I’m very glad I did.
Youngs’ first album in a decade, Avalanche would sit well within my definition of easy listening. Gentle, lush sounds, her voice is soft and sweet for the most part – the layers of each track complimenting her vocals to bring a pop-folk quality to the album as a whole.
For me, it took a little while to get started, after the upbeat shoegaze-bop-esque title track ‘Avalanche’ the tempo drops for ‘Knife Went In’ and ‘Goldenrod’ which set out the stall a little too quietly for my liking, but may be . My attention (and heartstrings) pick back up again with ‘Bury Me Slowly’ – which is a real stand out track, both lyrically and with its waltzing tempo.
Easy listening doesn’t always mean sticking to easy themes – Youngs takes us back to her teen years to tell a story of trauma, tension and personal transformation as we grow as people. One of my favourite analogies has to be:
“Got a retainer,
It doesn’t fit now
But I had teeth once
Different from these ones”
Whether this track changed my opinon, or if the latter part of the album is simply more intense and the beginning was a musical equivalent of heating up water so slowly that a lobster doesn’t realise it’s being boiled to death (this is a bad analogy, but stay with me) – I found myself enjoying the new temperature and tempo alike.
‘Salt’ too is a devastatingly beautiful break-up track, as Youngs eloquently quips that “…anybody worth their salt knows the arrow hurts worse when you pull it back out.” The story of the relationship is familiar yet fond, and the anticipation of hurt is masked by a cheerful melody. Deceptively sad songs are a forte of mine, and it ticks all of the boxes.
At just 38 minutes in length, Avalanche is worth exploring, and it’s a stunning comeback for Youngs. I feel like it’s unlikely the album will remain in my top rotation for 2024 – but Youngs herself, and the songs as above, certainly will.
Ends
Words by Kate Burke
Picky Bastards 
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