Avalanche

Following on from her formative debut Adolescence, Thala releases her remarkable new album Avalanche on Fire Records. As 2023’s EPs revisited painful chapters in her life, Avalanche offers a more focused worldview, tackling more mature matters of the heart. Drawn to the cerebral emotion of early 90s shoegaze and indie rock, these are songs to live by. This is pop music that blossoms from verse to chorus much like Sharon Van Etten, with piercing soundscapes by way of Ethel Cain and Wolf Alice.

A reawakening, full of positivity and purpose from the everyday thrall of life.  Avalanche sees Thala caught in that moment when indie confidently explodes into soaring panoramic rock, a coming of age statement and a strident evolution from her previous work. Opening cut ‘1st of the year’ is a heady slice of realisation that everything’s not going to work out as planned and is an outpouring of emotion which reveals a darker side to her music.

It sets the scene for a cathartic awakening; Thala is a performer living life’s rich adventures and rolling with its punches; ‘don’t want u to die’ is an honest parable filled with modern-day melancholy, it’s a liberating  piece of indie rock that surges with dramatic heft and is executed with pinpoint precision; ‘spit it out’ is a cursory chronicle of revenge served cold, while ‘tongue-tied & starry-eyed’ (featuring Communions artist Sfven) is the understanding that sometimes you just have to move on. Thala takes us on her personal trip as ‘drive song’ slides into a somnambulant plea with vintage Cure-like chiming guitars while  ‘body to you’ raises the ante with a gloriously triumphant chorus of “it’s alright, it’s alright”.

Released: February 2025
Cat: FIRELP675       
Label: Fire Records