Dntel
Human Voice
16 September 2014
Leaving
4 stars out of 5
Dntel is the pseudonym of American electronic musician Jimmy
Tamborello, perhaps best known as one half of The Postal Service. Human Voice is his fifth full-length
studio LP, and, as the title suggests, it features samples of actual human
beings generating sounds using their vocal chords, although in a heavily
processed manner—slowed down, sped up (sometimes both at once), reversed, and
run through a zillion effects. This doesn’t happen on every track, however, and
the instrumental music on the album is a wide array of enjoyable electronica,
spanning various micro-genres from almost-glitch to not-quite-2-step-garage.
Regardless of which genre he’s subtly imploding, Tamborello
injects each track with a playful sense of exploration. His compositions have
direction, goals, aims, and are followed through to completion, but also have a
sense of looseness and fun. Unusual for a Dntel record, there are no big-name guest vocalists on Human Voice, so the likelihood of its production of a hit like “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan” is slim. This ain’t no party record, but it isn’t an
over-thought and tedious concept album either. Human Voice is a living and breathing entity, and seems more easily
approachable than his previous records that featured guest vocalists.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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