I Am the Avalanche releases album 'Avalanche United'

I Am the Avalanche's singer, Vinnie Caruana, laughs when asked about the six-year gap between the band's albums.

"Well, I knew it would come out one day," he says, referring to the Tuesday release date for the band's "Avalanche United" (I Surrender) album. He quickly adds, "This record will definitely be worth the wait."

That's an understatement. "Avalanche United" is head and shoulders above the band's already-impressive debut, with a hard-hitting sound and well-crafted songs.

"We realized that this album wouldn't be what it is now if we would've done it right away," Caruana says. "This was the first time we didn't write music in the van. We had time to think it out. We had time to sit down and create an album, rather than write a bunch of songs."

"Avalanche United" reflects the time the band got to spend at home, in Long Beach, where Caruana lives, and Brooklyn. They built a connection that runs through the album, from the raucous single "Brooklyn Dodgers" to the poignant "The Place You Love Is Gone." "That song is about how much we, as humans, take for granted," Caruana says. "Part of that is about my relationship -- something I expected to last forever. I never thought I would end up saying, 'I'm divorced' . . . I don't want to exploit the whole thing, but I wanted to talk about these feelings."

The song reflects a new sense of determination from I Am the Avalanche. "We did exactly what we set out to do," Caruana says. "Everything was what we meant it to be."

I Am the Avalanche play with Bayside at Irving Plaza on Nov. 15 and 16.

Contact The Long Island Sound at glenn.gamboa@newsday.com or follow @ndmusic on Twitter.