Dntel - Dumb Luck Review
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Six years in the making, Jimmy Tamborello must have known that any album this tedious would bring upon a score of waiting fans. Working with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) in producing electro-pop powerhouse Postal Service, Tamborello originally started with his introverted electronic project Dntel. Following his much acclaimed Life is Full of Possibilities, Dntel came back this last spring with his aforementioned album Dumb Luck. With Tamborello already being critical of his work (or could this be an insecurity?), Dumb Luck was to become a mere accident after completion. Though considering the time it took to make the album, it is far from being a fluke.
"Dumb Luck" starts out with vibrant glitches and atmospheric electronic washes with a monologue that is both sentimental and annoying � "Dumb Luck" sounds like it's screaming for attention. Though despite the strange start, the remainder of Dumb Luck settles down. This is completely evident in the lethargic and playful "To a Fault". Edward Droste (Grizzly Bear) lends soothing vocals in one of the two best songs on the album. "To a Fault" feels right at home in its rare blend of static crackle, acoustic guitar plucks and parading drumbeat. In addition to the tracks pleasant presence, various classical instruments creep into the blipping electronics to slowly become distorted fuzz. Lali Puna add the perfect amount of detachment and ambience to "I'd Like to Know" a song so full of jazz and pattering blips that it actually works and doesn't fall apart under its timid nature. Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) compromises sweet, girlish vocals with screeching electronic static on "Roll On", the second of the two best songs. Visualize sturdy storytelling, as well as a higher dosage of emotive sound and you've got something far more penetrating than in her Postal Service collaboration. This inviting ballad is about life's ups and downs, and you can literally feel the downs when static debris drowns out Lewis's acoustic guitar. Arthur & Yu's "The Distance" resonates to rumbling synth pads and blinking chimes and keys while Mia Dai Todd's fleshy vocals on "Rock My Boat" quietly pulsate to brooding electronic wows. Andrew Broder (Fog) simplistically illustrates "Natural Resources" with his fresh vocals while Tamborello elucidates with copious steamboat horns, hyperactive bass, wood-cracking taps and computer keyboard clicks into a song both emotive and vivacious. Conor Oberst's (Bright Eyes) vocals quaver in "Breakfast in Bed". The repetitive and consequently tiresome rhythm may fail to indulge listeners in this twangy, south-beat track. The understated "Dreams" starts out with what sounds like a harmonium escorting listeners into warm static splashes and trickling vocals by Mystic Chords of Memory. Before you know it "Dreams" fades from ominous electronic and acoustic pangs into nothing. "Just don't forget that it's Dumb Luck that got you here," Tamborello warbles and coos in the opening track. Despite the detached reputation of electronic music, Dumb Luck tests listeners with every ounce of its existence, as introverted as it may be. Though this life is not a happy one, Tamborello lacks faith (perhaps in himself more than anything else). His talent is as strong as it comes, and this album is his second reminder after the praised debut Life is Full of Possibilities. Though Dumb Luck is more than just a good album; it's more about being true to your self-doubts. Which in this case (and ironically so) may augment every morsel of self-confidence.
Track Listing
1. Dumb Luck
2. To a Fault
3. I'd Like To Know
4. Roll On
5. The Distance
6. Rock my Boat
7. Natural Resources
8. Breakfast in Bed
9. Dreams
CD Info and Links
Dntel - Dumb Luck
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