The Avalanches have released “Blue Shadows,” a new single featuring Karen O, along with an accompanying video. The collaboration marks the second time the Australian group has worked with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman, following “Dial D for Devotion” from the 2020 album We Will Always Love You. The song is available now, and its cover art was created by Jonathan Zawada.
Robbie Chater said the track began as an idea by Avalanches member Andy Szekeres that was nearly forgotten until Tony Di Blasi found it in an old folder and proposed it for a future album. Chater later shared the demo with Karen O, though he initially did not expect vocals to fit the piece. “What she recorded still amazes me after months of listening,” he said, describing her contribution as something that made the song feel fully formed.
Karen O said she immediately accepted the invitation after Chater sent her the track. “The Avalanches last record We Will Always Love You was a gift to humanity in 2020 and I’ll count it as one of my Top 10 forever,” she said. “The Avalanches frequency is high, I’m so happy to be asked to slide into it.” Born in Seoul and raised in New Jersey, O has released five studio albums with Yeah Yeah Yeahs, including the Grammy-nominated Cool It Down in 2022.
“Blue Shadows” is The Avalanches’ third new release of 2026, following “Every Single Weekend” with Jamie xx and “Together” with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, and Prentiss. The Avalanches recently performed at Primavera Sound Barcelona and have announced London headline dates connected to Pitchfork Music Festival in November. Their upcoming DJ schedule also includes All Together Now in Ireland, Freakquencies in France with The Dare, Poplar and C2C in Italy, and Les Nuits Weekender in Belgium. Across their catalog, The Avalanches have sold more than one million albums and accumulated 700 million streams to date worldwide.
Listen to “Blue Shadows” here.
