On first listen to Dntel's new album, you want to swear that it'sEuropean; yet another brilliant out-of-nowhere young German makingbeautifully skittery electronica on their laptop. But the first of manysurprises on this breathtaking record is that it's a product of LosAngeles native Jimmy Tamborello, with the magical help of a whole slewof friends.The disc glides along with gorgeous vocal accompaniment from Mia DoiTodd, Benjamin Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), Chris Gunst, MeredithFigurine and Rachel Haden (That Dog). Thrown into the mix are alsoBrian McMahan of Slint/For Carnation fame (offering about two chordsworth of guitar on a track) and Paul Larson of Tamborello's formerband, Strictly Ballroom, on guitar. So what does all this do for thesound? A whole hell of a lot, apparently. Tamborello expertly chopsefficient phrases of vocals, guitars and keyboards into nearly flawlesspop songs that rival anything to come out this year. This is at themoment in my Top 10 for the year, just for the Mia Doi Todd andBenjamin Gibbard contributions alone.
It's fitting that most of the lyrics are in some way or another aboutlove. When Mia Doi Todd sings "How can you love me if you don't loveyourself / I love you," you just want to tear what's left of your heartout and hand it to Tamborello because you just know at this point thathe's going to make something better out of it. If you give a shit aboutRadiohead, Four Tet, Lali Puna or Boards of Canada, then you canrightly have your heart crushed and your mind blown for about $14 atyour local record store. Just look for the ambulance.
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