Dntel anyone about this record.

I bought Dumb Luck after reading that it would “stand out as one of the most interesting albums of the year”. I also read reviews praising the merits of having an album full of indie all-stars and that it would be right up the alley for fans of The Postal Service.

Being that Dntel is James Tamborello AKA “the other half of The Postal Service”, I was excited about this record. But that is where the excitement ended.

I didn’t expect another “Give Up” but I was hoping for the same chemistry. The only bearable song is perhaps the title track that features Tamborello himself on vox. The rest of the tracks however are very un-engaging, thanks to the continuity of the soft-spoken subdued vocals provided by the guest performers. If this were an instrumental album I may have enjoyed it much more (save for a couple of samples that actually hurt your ears no matter how much you fiddle with the equalizer) as there is some interesting compositions and sample manipulations. But the vocals never mesh with the music and make the songs somewhat unbearable.

Mind you, I listened to the record 3 times before writing this, as I prefer to highlight good music. But the tracks never worked as driving music, late night background chill music or negative music review blogging music.

Dntel, Ben Gibbard is your savior. Make more music with him. And make CD’s with more than 9 tracks.

Remember kiddo’s…hype hurts.

Ps. On a more positive note, I bought Mute Math’s debut album at the same time as the one above. It’s been around a while and I am a latecomer listening to it, but it is definitely music for awesome. “Typical” is a great song as well as the superb video for it. However, the real treat is that the rest of the album is not another 13 “typical” tracks. There are some trip-hop elements that I rather enjoyed and the organic electronic tracks highlighted how musical and inventive Mute Math is.