The story of Avalanche City begins in a house, alone, for hours and hours e… Read Full Bio ↴The story of Avalanche City begins in a house, alone, for hours and hours each day for months, slowly learning how to sing by process of scales, recording, and self critique.
Six months after taking the first steps towards singing, Dave Baxter played his first solo show as Avalanche City. Six months after the first show, one year after beginning the process of teaching himself how to sing, the first tracks were laid for Avalanche City's debut album Our New Life Above The Ground.

Armed with a sack full of vegetarian single serve curries Dave Baxter headed into the countryside and moved into a little community hall called the Kourawhero Hall, just north of Auckland. There he spent the week alone recording and playing everything himself with only the cows and the milk trucks as company.

The album was available free to download for four months. After 11,000 downloads and a brand new EP just released it has come time to stop the download and sell the album with the EP Snow as a deluxe 2 disc package. You can buy it online at www.avalanchecity.com or in store.

The Silence
Avalanche City Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I remember a conversation
At a restaurant with a friend of mine
He's a successful mind
And he told me of his life

And the plans he'd made to come this far
Had gone so well and now we're all
So proud of him and he told me how

But I couldn't bear to listen

'Cause all my life I've heard of the
Dreams of the organized
To be the best in the company
To win the awards but that's not me

'Cause all my life all I ever wanted
Was a love that lasted longer than the silence

I had to say that I had to leave
'Cause it was on my mind
That all he set in me was insecurity
But that dream was never mine

'Cause the plans I thought I'd made
So far had gone alright but all that I feel now

Is doubt and he told me why
But I couldn't bear to listen

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Avalanche City's song "The Silence" convey a sense of disconnect between the singer's aspirations and the expectations of society. The song starts off with a conversation between the singer and a successful friend at a restaurant. This friend tells the singer about his accomplishments and how he achieved them. However, the singer can't listen to the friend's success story because all his life he has been bombarded with the societal ideal of becoming the best in the company, winning awards, and making it big. But, the singer realizes that his aspirations lie elsewhere, and it's not about materialistic success.

As the song continues, the singer comes to terms with his own aspirations, which are far removed from the dreams of the organized elite. The singer confesses that all he ever wanted was a love that lasted longer than the silence. The love that he desires is unconditional, and it's not about external validation. The song ends with the singer feeling unsure about the plans he has made so far, and all he feels is doubt. The song touches on themes of societal pressure to conform, feelings of inadequacy, and the importance of understanding and accepting one's aspirations.

Line by Line Meaning

I remember a conversation
Recalling a past conversation

At a restaurant with a friend of mine
Location and duration of the conversation

He's a successful mind
Describing friend's status

And he told me of his life
Friend sharing his life story

And the plans he'd made to come this far
Friend's ambitious plans

Had gone so well and now we're all
Plans have succeeded and everyone is proud

So proud of him and he told me how
Friend sharing how he achieved his success

But I couldn't bear to listen
The artist can't handle the story of success

'Cause all my life I've heard of the
The artist has heard the societal expectations

Dreams of the organized
Success in structured society

To be the best in the company
Being the superior employee