| Avalanche City | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Birth Name: | Dave Baxter |
| Birth Place: | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Origin: | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Genre: | Indie folk |
| Instrument: | Vocals, guitar |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Years Active: | 2009–present |
Avalanche City is the stage name of indie folk musician Dave Baxter from Auckland, New Zealand. He is best known for his 2011 New Zealand No. 1 single "Love, Love, Love" and his 2015 single "Inside Out", which also charted at No. 1. In 2011, Dave Baxter was awarded the APRA Silver Scroll and nominated for three New Zealand Music Awards, including Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year.
Baxter began playing guitar at age nine and during his teens he performed in the bands One Must Fall and The Chase. He studied at Waikato Institute of Technology in Hamilton, graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Media Arts (Commercial Music).
In late 2009 Baxter left his job as a music writer and began recording bands in his own studio. He also began to write songs, practice singing, and create his own melodies. After performing his songs for friends, Baxter started Avalanche City and began touring with other musicians. He eventually decided to record the album Our New Life Above the Ground at Kourawhero Hall and offered it as a free download from Avalanche City's official website. Initial response to the album was extremely positive and the song "Love, Love, Love" was picked up by the local New Zealand TV station TV2 TV2 for their station promos. After this point the song placed on the New Zealand singles chart.
The album Our New Life Above the Ground was then re-released and sold well, placing number 4 on the official national albums chart and achieving gold status.
See main article: We are for the Wild Places. After 4 years since the release of the Baxter's record breaking debut single Love Love Love, he released his highly anticipated new album, We are for the Wild Places in July 2015. The album's first single Inside Out was very popular and quickly reached number one on the Official New Zealand Music Chart[1] and was certified Platinum.[2] The album itself was placed no 3 on the Official Top 40 Albums Chart. The second official single from the album, Keep Finding A Way has been released to radio late August.[3]
"My Babylon" was released on February 22, 2019, featuring nine new tracks available on streaming platforms, digital download, vinyl, and CD. Among the most popular tracks were "Prayed for Love," "Whispers," and the title track, "My Babylon." Following the release, Dave took an extended break from music for nearly five years. In a 2024 video blog on YouTube titled "Why I Quit Music, And Why I'm Coming Back," he detailed his reasons for the hiatus, primarily citing burnout. At the time, he was uncertain if or when he would return to Avalanche City.
In 2024, Dave returned to music with the release of his single "Keep That Love" on May 24, 2024, along with the promise of at least one more single in the near future.
| Artist: | Avalanche City |
| Studio: | 3 |
| Music Videos: | 9 |
| Ep: | 1 |
| Singles: | 8 |
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [4] | AUS [5] | ||||||||||||
| Our New Life Above the Ground |
| 4 | 97 |
| |||||||||
| We are for the Wild Places |
| 3 | — | ||||||||||
| My Babylon |
| 27 [6] | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that were not released or did not chart in that region. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ [7] | AUS [8] | ||||||||||||
| "Love Love Love" | 2011 | 1 | 49 |
| Our New Life Above the Ground | ||||||||
| "Ends in the Ocean" | — | — | |||||||||||
| "You and I" | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Sunset" | 2012 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Inside Out" | 2015 | 1 | — |
| We Are for the Wild Places | ||||||||
| "Keep Finding a Way" | — | — | |||||||||||
| "Prayed for Love" | 2018 | — | — | My Babylon | |||||||||
| "My Babylon" | 2019 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "Keep That Love" | 2024 | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that were not released or did not chart in that region. | |||||||||||||
Notes
| Title | Director(s) | Year | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Love Love Love" | Josh Smith | 2011 | [11] | |
| "Ends in the Ocean" | Jefferton James | 2011 | [12] | |
| "You and I" | Jefferton James | 2011 | [13] | |
| "Sunset" | Kyle Eaton | 2012 | [14] | |
| "Inside Out" | Chris Lane | 2015 | [15] | |
| "Keep Finding a Way" | Josh Smith | 2015 | [16] | |
| "Little Fire" | Chris Lane | 2016 | [17] | |
| "Prayed for Love" | Mark Fruish | 2018 | [18] | |
| "My Babylon" | Mark Fruish | 2019 | [19] |
| Year | Organisation | Nominated Work | Award ! | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Love, Love, Love" | Silver Scroll Award | |||
| "Love, Love, Love" | |||||
| Our New Life Above Ground | |||||
| Avalanche City | |||||
| 2012 | "Love, Love, Love" | Most Performed Work in New Zealand | |||
| 2015 | "Inside Out" |