Before he became known as the less familiar half of the Postal Service, electronic songwriter Jimmy Tamborello was arranging his bleeps and clicks under the name Dntel.

His first album, 2001′s Life is Full of Possibilities, featured Tamborello’s electronic glitch-pop layered underneath several guest vocals from artists such as Mia Doi Todd, Strictly Ballroom guitarist Chris Gunst, and the more familiar half of the Postal Service, Ben Gibbard. This collaborative element added an interesting variety to his textured landscapes and is featured once again on his latest album, Dumb Luck.

Almost six years in the making, Dumb Luck is filled to the top with indie rock’s brightest young stars: Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst, Grizzly Bear’s Edward Drost. Even Mia Doi Todd returns for another go round. Add to that appearances from Fog’s Andrew Broder, Lali Puna’s Valerie Trebeljahr and Markus Acher, Arthur & You’s Grant Olsen and Sonya Westcott, and Mystic Chords of Memory’s Christopher and Jennifer Gunst, and you have a record that works simultaneously as an electronic pop album, a killer who’s who compilation, and a reminder that before ‘Such Great Heights’ Jimmy Tamborello was very much alive and making some great music.

The immediate stand out tracks are Jenny Lewis’ ‘Roll On’ and Conor Oberst’s ‘Breakfast in Bed’, however this may vary according to the listener’s familiarity with each vocalist. In the end Dumb Luck’s strong suit lies in its ability to draw all the different vocals into one cohesive whole. The bleeps and glitches float beautifully behind Jenny Lewis’ country drawl, Conor Oberst’s wavering and fragile storytelling, and Edward Drost’s airy voice.

The marraige between Tamborello and his friends works so well you may start confusing your favorite vocalist as ‘the singer for Dntel’.

MP3
Dntel – Dumb Luck

[mp3] Magnolia Electric Co. – Lonesome Valley (from the record Fading Trails out now on Secretly Canadian Records)

Jason Molina and crew are forever waltzing along that dry desert highway, spreading their Neil Young-inspired country rock one lonely story at a time. Their second full length Fading Trails may not have been as strong as their debut What Comes After the Blues, but it features a few strong tracks such as the attached ‘Lonesome Valley’.

[mp3] Stephen Merritt – The Meaning of Lice (from the compilation Plague Songs out now on 4AD records)

Biblical disaster serves as the inspiration behind 4AD’s recent compilation Plague Songs. Featuring exclusive tracks from artists such as Imogen Heap, Brian Eno, Rufus Wainwright, and the attached Stephen Merritt (The Magnetic Fields), Plague Songs takes a hauntingly beautiful look at each of the ten plagues as interpreted by eahc artist. The attached track, ‘The Meaning of Lice’, is an upbeat pop song dedicated to the little known lice plague.