It certainly wasn't a fluke that the Postal Service's Give Up became so popular -- the sleek sounds and vulnerable melodies Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard fused together were a perfect combination for early-2000s indie. For a time, it seemed like the Postal Service might overshadow Tamborello's more venerable experimental project, Dntel, so it's nice to see that he returned to it with Dumb Luck, which arrived six years after the brilliant Life Is Full of Possibilities. It's even nicer to discover that Dntel still has an identity distinct from the Postal Service: Dumb Luck is another lovely, impressionistic collage of dream pop, indie rock, and electronic sounds, graced with vocals by some of indie's most distinctive singers. A little of the Postal Service's immediacy has rubbed off on Dumb Luck's songwriting, but Dntel's sound remains much more abstract, with squiggles, splashes, and scratches of sound popping up everywhere; the electro-calypso of "The Distance" feels like it's melting, bending, and breaking right before your ears. Dumb Luck's whimsical arrangements and production tricks are a lot more involved and ornate than Life Is Full of Possibilities' sound was, but these flights of fancy and intentional imperfections are just as much a part of the songwriting as the lyrics and melodies are. Nowhere is this clearer than on the title track, which opens the album with Tamborello's own sweet, self-effacing vocals set against staticky electronics and acoustic guitars that set the tone for the rest of these bruised and intimate songs. The album's subtly but constantly changing backdrops take listeners on a journey: "To a Fault" roams from plucked acoustic guitars to ebbing and flowing tides of electronic /p>
oise made all the moodier by layered vocals courtesy of Grizzly Bear's Edward Droste (indeed, "To a Fault" could have easily appeared on Yellow House). Tamborello's palette of singers plays an even more vital role on Dumb Luck than on Life Is Full of Possibilities, with each track playing to the strengths of its guest star. On "Roll On," Jenny Lewis' girlish twang warms up the self-destructing sounds around her; Lali Puna adds just the right detached elegance to "I'd Like to Know"; and Conor Oberst's groggy mumble underscores the hung-over heartbreak of "Breakfast in Bed." "Rock My Boat," which features Mia Doi Todd's caressing vocals, sounds like a lost '70s singer/songwriter classic shot into space, and comes the closest to the seemingly effortless majesty of Life Is Full of Possibilities. Dumb Luck isn't quite as cohesive as Dntel's debut was, but it is beautiful and carefully crafted enough to show that none of Tamborello's successes are flukes.
Me thinks it time for NEW new Dntel. I just got this cd in the mail (which came in the dumbest package evarrrr).i mean serrirousry... but... whatever... i mean... its not that bad... im sorry for making fun of you package... friends?... anyway.the cd is tripindicular. you wont hear any ambient instrumentals like the last album, but you do get 9 songs chalk full of pleasant guest vocals and blip...
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It’s as if he’s in a dream he doesn’t want to wake from. Jimmy Tamborello, James Figurine, Dntel, whatever you wish to call him. He prefers the dream state where elaborate instrumentals play, where life becomes weightless and where Tamborello feels, in a very real world, unreal. It’s easy to forget that Jimmy Tamborello is real. Under so many monikers, hidden beneath layers of intricately
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I wish I had more of this. I wish I had the whole album.I cannot express to you my love for Jimmy Tamborello. The man is perfection. Electronic perfection. All those blip bloops and whirrs and I just can't help but enjoy it. And his smooth , smooth voice? Slap my ears and call me Cynthia. Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see? Believe you/me, my DNA was designed to loathe electro...
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the distance feat. arthur & yu, is the first music video for dntel's new album "dumb luck." probably my least favorite track on the album sadly. but hey, if you like it you'll probably like the whole album!
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Me thinks it time for NEW new Dntel. I just got this cd in the mail (which came in the dumbest package evarrrr).i mean serrirousry... but... whatever... i mean... its not that bad... im sorry for making fun of you package... friends?... anyway.the cd is tripindicular. you wont hear any ambient instrumentals like the last album, but you do get 9 songs chalk full of pleasant guest vocals and blip...
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As you likely know, Jimmy Tamborello is Ben Gibbard partner in The Postal Service. Now Jimmy's got a solo album on Sub Pop due April 22. Here's the title track.
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This song has been posted before....yes. I know. This is my favorite song these days and I think the lyrics are amazing. Truth in its purest form. Depending on the mood I'm in I either feel that he's singing about me........or that I am great and the rest are suckers!!! This is not a song that leaves you waiting unpatiently for next week to begin. This song makes me wish that it could be sunday...
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It’s as if he’s in a dream he doesn’t want to wake from. Jimmy Tamborello, James Figurine, Dntel, whatever you wish to call him. He prefers the dream state where elaborate instrumentals play, where life becomes weightless and where Tamborello feels, in a very real world, unreal. It’s easy to forget that Jimmy Tamborello is real. Under so many monikers, hidden beneath layers of intricately
More >
I wish I had more of this. I wish I had the whole album.I cannot express to you my love for Jimmy Tamborello. The man is perfection. Electronic perfection. All those blip bloops and whirrs and I just can't help but enjoy it. And his smooth , smooth voice? Slap my ears and call me Cynthia. Isn't he just the cutest thing you ever did see? Believe you/me, my DNA was designed to loathe electro...
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I guess I’m becoming accustomed to posting little teasers for anticipated upcoming releases, so I’m gonna keep it going. This is probably gonna get me in the mog spotlight again, but what can I say, I’m a spotlight whore. Today and sometime in the next week I’m going to give you a little taste of what Dntel has been up to. Jimmy Tamborello seems to be a great multitasker as it has been kno
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It is known that all the world has their seperate bloody opinion on every little remark, book, public bathroom, and movie created. Some people like to scribble down their two cents on a piece of paper and send it into newspapers hoping their thoughts would get published and then create a stew of nasty letters to the editor, other people like to call themselves "critics" and destroy ever single ...
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I just bought dntel - dumb luck on vinyl and opened it up and lo and behold...there's a coupon to download the album from their website.I effing love this...if more companies would do this i'd buy everything on vinyl. The only reason i buy CDs anymore is so that i can import it easily to my iPod...so my vinyl collection is mostly albums that i feel are important to listen to as a whole...or al...
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Dntel's newest album Dumb Luck is filled with great songs, but please check out this one featuring conor oberst, appropriate beat and amazing lyrics. I'd say its a mix between Lua off Bright Eyes' "Im wide awake, its morning" and Sleeping In off Postal Service's "Give up"...(these two bands popped up for obvious reasons). enjoy! check out the rest of the album
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Dumb Luck |
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| 2 To a Fault |
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| 3 I'd Like to Know |
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| 4 Roll On |
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| 5 The Distance |
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| 6 Rock My Boat |
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| 7 Natural Resources |
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| 8 Breakfast in Bed |
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| 9 Dreams |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Dumb Luck")
