The Joy Of The Avalanches' 'Frankie Sinatra' Eclipses The Pain Of The Past 16 Years

We’ve all felt a little neglected — hell, made fun of — by The Avalanches and their 16 year-old promise of ‘a new album’. But let’s face it — triple j’s probably felt it hardest. Reddit-ers have collected clips that chronicle the various false starts on the station over the years, while the band, perhaps to make amends, featured references to triple j and Richard Kingsmill’s voice in their internationally circulated “Since They Left Us” teaser video.

Just before 2pm this afternoon, Kingsmill and regular lunchtime presenter Lewi McKirdy finally played the new song, Frankie Sinatra. Just after the news at the hour, they played it again. Just because they could.

read more: the avalanches postpone comeback gig

The world exclusive broadcast showed that the wait has been worth it. If nothing else, because there’s a sample from My Favourite Things in there alongside Danny Brown and MF Doom, tied together with cheeky and catchy refrain to rival the best in their backcat — “Ah, Frankie Sinatra/ Ah, Frank Sinatra/ Frankie, my boy, you don’t know/ you have a perfect voice to sing calypso” — drawing on Wilmoth Houdini’s “Bobby Sox Idol”.

Also listen for the “Fiddler-on-the-roof”-like refrain, and God knows how they cleared it but Rogers & Hammerstein even get a nod on the APRA listing, so it’s totes legit and all.

Ol’ Blue Eyes, and some of the best producers ever, are finally back.