All the Melodies were Stolen
This has been rattling around for a while I know, but dntel's new album comes out in just a couple weeks now so I thought I'd remind you people. One of the things I really enjoy about the indie music culture right now is the sense of community it can bring. Thanks to the internets, there's so much more we can read and listen and do together. Heck, music for robots started as a way for a small bunch of friends to keep up with each other's music collections--and that's exactly what it still does only the bunch of friends has gotten a bit larger.
And then there a some pockets of community among the artists themselves that really make this feel like a family right? Like this one time when I was in Philly at a Rilo Kiley show, and their encore was a cover of Such Great Heights--this was somewhere between Postal Service's release and its complete domination--so it was still fresh enough to pull off. Everyone knew the words and it kind of harkened back to the 60's folk scene when everyone played each other's songs.
So dntel's collaborative efforts, like his new album Dumb Luck have some of the best examples of this community creating together.
My first exposure to Jimmy Tamborello's work was dntel's This is the Dream of Evan and Chan and the title track of the new album really reminds of that song. I don't think it's accidental because I think dntel may be singing about the success spawned by that first collaboration with Ben Gibbard that kicked off a phenomenon. Of course, I think most of us would agree that it was not in fact "dumb luck" that brought about Jimmy and Ben achievement.
The rest of the album flows pretty well from this track. There's lots of guests as I'm sure you're aware. You can pre-order the album directly from Sub Pop