Dntel

While people wait hoping for a new Postal Service album (some of you are, admit it), Jimmy Tamborello has taken a decade-sized step backwards to collect and reissue 40 tracks from the earliest days of Dntel. Originally limited releases by Phthalo, the first two discs of the triptych illustrate how Tamborello's love of Warp, ambient Aphex Twin and other '90s electronics was assimilated into a voice all his own, even early on. The tracks from Everything Always Goes Wrong, which grew out of a 1994 cassette release, veer from minimal yet always evolving mid-tempo excursions to the manic drum & bass mutations that Planet Mu laid down as their foundation. Early Works for Me leans more heavily on the μ-Ziq/Photek side of the fence but with elements of melody that those artists seldom bothered to layer in. The third disc of previously unreleased tracks is more disjointed and experimental, with the appearance of acoustic guitar and vocal cut-ups expanding the possibilities. With the 2007 release of Dumb Luck, Tamborello invited singers into Dntel's previously lyric-free world, making this seem like a way to sweep up the remainders of days gone by.