Fingertips Flashback: Avocadoclub (from May 2006)

The internet has come to be home to way more one-hit wonders than AM radio ever was. And, okay, while I guess we actually aren’t talking about “hits,” it’s basically the same idea—there are countless bands who put out one really good song online and then just disappear. But at least sometimes, the songs remain, even if the band vanishes. So here we have one cool song from the Berlin duo Avocadoclub; the band’s web site remains stuck in 2006, but the MP3 is still downloadable. Here’s what it sounded like to me four years ago….

“Too Much Space to Walk Away” – Avocadoclub

[from “This Week’s Finds,” May 16, 2006]

As smooth, catchy, and vaguely disaffected as an old Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark single. This has all the earmarks of a great floaty synth-pop hit but the really cool thing is they’re not really using a heck of a lot of synthesizers; the acoustic guitars are actually more prominent. Most of the effect, I think, is coming from the layered majesty of Bendrik Muhs’ vocals, and the use of a New Order-style lower-register lead guitar line. Muhs has the ability to sound both pretty and weary, like Ben Gibbard doing a Lou Reed impression; his aching delivery of the sweeping chorus is big-time pop heaven. Avocadoclub is an English-language band from Berlin; there appear to be two guys at the heart of it, but they’ve fleshed out into a five-piece band for the debut CD. “Too Much Space to Walk Away” was the title track on the band’s second EP, released in 2002; it has shown up as well on the debut full-length, entitled Everybody’s Wrong, which was released in March on Firestation Records. Thanks much, yet again, to Getecho for the lead.

ADDENDUM: Can’t seem to find much trace of this band from either before or after 2006. Their MySpace page takes their story up through 2008, but talks of no further releases past Everybody’s Wrong. There is kind of a cool cover of the Pavement song “Newark Wilder” in the media player, however.